Kamen Rider Valtere
by Kamen Driver
Summary: Finally, KR Valtere's BACK! Episode 14 SPECIAL: The fight between Fendere and Mori the Galmi is described in full detail! Also, parts of Valtere and Fendere's past lives are revealed! And... Super Hero Time is BACK! You don't wanna miss this!
1. Episode 1: A Ghastly Beginning!

KRV_EP01_Ver_4.0 - Last Edit: 08/31/10 06:42 GMT+8

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider, of course._

_A/N: This is my first fanfic ever; please review so I will know which areas I should improve. Thank you in advance for spending a bit of your time to read this story._

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**]Kamen Rider Valtere  
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****

_Stories about a motorcycle-riding ghost inside Tennotsukai Academy have been around for decades. It was featured several times in mystery TV shows, and there was even a movie that was loosely based on this urban legend._

_The story goes like this: once every month, on the night of the new moon, when there is but a faint trace of light coming from the stars, an eerie globe of light would be seen dashing around the school grounds. It was, apparently, a motorcycle headlight, because of the rumbling sound that comes with it and the almost indiscernible silhouette that would be seen if somebody looks closely at it._

_Unfortunately, no one who had dared to look closer at it still walks on this plane of existence._

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******Episode 1:**** A Ghastly Beginning! Night of the New Moon!**

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_****__Tennotsukai Academy** - Newspaper Club ("Angel's VOICE") Office - ****4:46 p.m**._

"So, they died."

"Yes."

"Okay, that really made no sense. How come there are clear descriptions of the bike-riding ghost when all of the supposed witnesses died?" Sakaguchi Hiro, a young, lean guy of 17 and a student of Tennotsukai Academy, said in disbelief.

"Word of mouth, of course. You know how powerful people's imagination are," answered Suzuki Yui, Hiro's classmate and chief editor of the newspaper club, while packing things up in her backpack.

"So what's the point of this investigation, then?" asked Hiro, scratching his jet-black hair as he was a little annoyed.

"To uncover the truth," answered Yui as-a-matter-of-factly. Hiro snapped, "The truth is that there's nothing out there!"

"There _is_ something out there!" Yui snapped back, turning around to Hiro so fast that her pony-tailed long hair swayed deliberately over her shoulders. "Have you ever wondered about who made all these crazy ghost stories? It's the school's higher-ups! Why did they make the campus off-limits on every new moon, eh? I tell you, there is something going on down there and I must know what it is! Now, if you think this is all nonsense and you're not going with me later tonight, leave all those things in your desk and get out. Thanks for the concern."

"Hey, who said I won't go?" said Hiro, sounding very sorry. "I'm in it."

More than any urban legend, the one thing that he fears the most is Yui's fury.

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_****__**Tennotsukai Academy -**** 9:48 p.m.**_

With bags on their backs, lit flashlights at their hands, and still in their school uniforms Hiro and Yui strode past the school entrance, not seeing any sign of people around the vicinity but themselves.

"That was easy," said Yui as she walked cautiously inside.

"That was _unusually_ easy," Hiro stressed, "Shouldn't there be some guards, if there really was _something_ going on here?"

"Well, we've got no time to mind about that," replied Yui, "Let's go."

Hiro and Yui walked past the school buildings and onto the soccer field. It was murky all around, but as their eyes were already accustomed to the dark, they could still see quite clearly.

"Okay, we're here." Yui said, glancing around the field. The place would've been relatively bright on a full moon, but because the moon was completely invisible this night, it was really dark.

"And it's empty," remarked Hiro without thinking, his feet was playing with a softdrink can lying on the ground. "Shouldn't we just -"

"Wait, stop!" snapped Yui. "I hear something."

"What?" The two stood firm, their ears filtering out the deafening silence until all that is left is the faint rumbling sound from underneath the ground. Then the wind blew fiercely. His anxiety increasing as he gawked at the rustling of the surrounding trees' leaves, Hiro said, "Something tells me that we need to get out of here…Yui-chan, let's -"

"KWAAAAAH!" Yui shrieked. Hiro almost also screamed when the earth shook. They fell down to their knees, practically embracing the soil below.

"What's happening?" Hiro yelled so his voice could overcome the growling sound of the shaking ground. Yui answered, in a louder voice, "I don't know!"

The earthquake continued for about a minute, then it stopped. Hiro stood up as soon as his legs and feet could balance itself and reached out for Yui to help her stand. "Yui–chan, are you all right? What was that all about?"

"I don't know," Yui answered, taking the young teen's arm, "but it seems that the people outside didn't notice it."

"Yeah, with that strong earthquake we should have been hearing sirens from fire trucks and ambulances – but it's awfully quiet," Hiro seconded but Yui didn't seem to care as she stared curiously to the direction of the soccer field. His eyes followed to where the girl's eyes were pointing. "Eh? What… is that?"

Standing in the middle of the soccer field was a strange stone pillar.**  
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_**Tennotsukai Academy - Soccer Field - ****10:26 p.m.**_

"This is really something," said Hiro, half-amazed and half-frightened, while examining the stone pillar's four sides. Yui remarked, "It's an obelisk."

"Obelisk?"

"I've read about it somewhere before," replied Yui, "But how did it appear right here?"

"Well, it couldn't have just emerged from underneath the ground, could it?" Hiro commented, illuminating the pillar with his flashlight until he saw something carved on its surface, "Yui-chan, look at this!"

Yui looked to where Hiro's flashlight was pointing. Hiro asked, "What do you suppose that was?"

"Looks like runic markings. I'm not sure," replied Yui. She noticed something, "There's something written over there."

Hiro moved his flashlight down, revealing a line written in a more familiar alphabet:

_**- S i e l e r e z u I l l u s o r i e i n V a l t e r e -**_

"English letters," Yui said, "but it still doesn't make any sense."

Hiro and Yui continued to pore over the towering rock for several minutes, hypothesizing on its mysterious origin and looking out for clues that may lead them to the meaning of the stone's writings, when the ground shook once again.

"An aftershock?" yelled Hiro, kneeling down and feeling the grassy soil with his hands. Yui was beside the obelisk, embracing it firmly. She let out another scream, louder this time.

"What?" Hiro asked.

"T-to your back!" squealed Yui, her finger was pointing to something beyond him. Hiro turned around to the source of Yui's trepidation just in time, as he narrowly missed a fierce tackle from a creature he had never seen in his whole life. "What the -"

It was no bigger than a crouching human. It was green-skinned, with grayish orb-like eyes, and large, flapping ears. Etched in its forehead was a glowing symbol of an upside-down triangle with a circle on each side. The creature's mouth revealed its sharp, saw-like teeth, and the traces of drool tells that that monster hadn't eaten for a long time.

And it's not the only one.

Around Hiro and Yui, more similar creatures are starting to emerge from underneath. Meanwhile, the monster than almost hit Hiro earlier started to rage toward them again. Hiro took Yui's hand, "Yui, let's go!"

They ran fast, hoping to escape the monsters following them and get outside the school. Yui however, couldn't keep up to Hiro's pace and eventually slowed down.

"I… c-can't… any…more…" said Yui, catching her breath.

"Just a little more! Come on!" encouraged Hiro. But it was too late. The monsters already caught up with them and seized Yui.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Yui!"

The monsters dragged Yui back inside until she was out of sight. Hiro shouted, "Yui!"**  
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_Tennotsukai Academy** - 10:40 p.m.**_

_He must save Yui,_ Hiro thought. Without hesitation, Hiro rushed back to the soccer field, following the path taken by the shadows of the monsters who took his friend. But he couldn't find her. Nor do the fiends who took her. It was as if they disappeared in an instant.

"Yui!" Hiro called, "Yui!"

He looked around, but there was no sign of anyone in the soccer field except him and the mysterious stone pillar at the center.

"Yui…" he whispered one more time before he rested his back on the surface of the pillar and sat in depression. Sweat, tears and mud were now combining to form a smudge over his face. Hiro cried, still in disbelief about what had happened in just a short time. Until...

_"Do you wanna look for your girl, eh?"_ came a voice from nowhere. Hiro was flabbergasted. The mysterious voice spoke again, sounding sarcastic, _"I don't mind you giving me a proper answer, young lad."_

"I… uh… who are you? Where are you?" Hiro asked in the air, "Are you the one who took Yui? Where is she?"

_"Easy, boy. I can't answer all you questions at once,"_ answered the mysterious voice, _"but I suppose we really don't have time for Q&A's, do we?"_

"Uh… what? What do you mean?" Hiro asked again, getting more confused. The voice spoke, _"Look around."_

Hiro followed the mysterious voice's instructions and saw the silhouette of the green monsters re-emerging from the darkness and slowly walking toward him.

"What the... What are these creatures? What is happening?" said Hiro, standing up, even though his knees were trembling. The voice bellowed, _"I told you there's no time for explanations! Are you going to fight or not?"_

"F-fight?"

_"I thought you wanted to save your girlfriend…"_

Hiro snapped, "She's not my girlfriend! Well, not yet… but yes, I must save her!"

The voice sniggered, _"Then make a pact with me, boy."_

"A what?" Hiro panted.

_"I'll borrow your body so you could use my power to fight!"_ the voice explained, _"So, are you in it?"_

"I… I don't understand! H-how –"

_"There's no time, boy! I'll fill you up with details after we finish up these brutes! For now, just say yes!"_

"But –"

_"Do you accept the soul binder as a tool to lease your body to an Illusori?" _the voice asked_._

"W-what?"

_"Just say yes!"_

"Yes!" Hiro answered, even though he had no idea with what was going on.

_"Do you accept Valtere as the Illusori who will merge with you using the soul binder?"_

"Yes!"

_"Then, let the binding begin!"_

The writings on the stone pillar suddenly emitted light. The glowing inscriptions disengaged from the obelisk, floated in mid-air and circled around Hiro. "W-what the –"

And then, all at once, the inscriptions attached themselves around Hiro's waist, forming what looked like a belt with an empty, circular slot at its center. After that, silvery purple smoke oozed from the tip of the stone pillar and entered Hiro's body through the empty slot in the mysterious belt. Hiro let out a screech of pain, as if his own body is trying to reject the foreign substance that entered it.

"WAAAAAAAHHHH!"**  
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_**Tennotsukai Academy -**** Building A, 3****rd**** Floor**** - 11:00 p.m.**_

A woman wearing a cloak sat on an armchair, looking at a large window that oversees the soccer field. To her left stood an older man who also seemed to enjoy the view on the soccer field, while to her right was an unconscious teenage girl by the name of Suzuki Yui. The room was enveloped in darkness so that their presence would not be known to that young man on the soccer field.

"So, it has started," said the old man, watching the boy outside being engulfed by a thick, shimmering layer of purple aura. The sitting woman did not answer.

"D'you reckon he can handle this?" the man spoke again. The woman was silent for a while, and then answered, "He should be."**  
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_Tennotsukai Academy** - Soccer Field**** - 11:03 p.m.**_

The violent outburst of purple aura from Hiro's body finally subsided. The empty circle in his belt was now replaced by a rotating emblem – two concentric circles with a fat cross on the center.

"My, my… it's been a while…" said Hiro with a much more deepened voice, twisting the joints in his body like someone warming up before a fight. He yelled, "Now Grave Maiden, look how I crumble your minions into ashes!"

"HEN...SHIN!"

_**(To be Continued)  
**_

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_Next time: What just happened to Hiro? Who took Yui? What is a soul binder? What is an Illusori? Who is Valtere? Who is the Grave Maiden?  
_

_Stay tuned for **Kamen Rider Valtere Episode 2: ****The Ghostly Rider Transforms! Start of the Test!**_

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_A/N: Okay, that was it! The first chapter! I hope you like it. And if you don't, tell me why! Oh, and I might have overlooked some errors too, please tell me if you notice something._


	2. Episode 2: A Ghostly Transformation!

_**Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere:**_

_It was too late. The green-skinned monsters already caught Yui. The captured girl desperately tried to extend her arms to Hiro until she was totally dragged into the darkness._

"_Hiro!"_

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**Episode 2: The Ghostly Rider Transforms! Start of the Test!**

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_**Sakaguchi Family House – 6:58 a.m.**_

"Yui!" Hiro exclaimed, breathing rapidly as he woke up from a terrible nightmare. He looked around, and found himself in his own bedroom. He asked himself, "A dream?"

He got out of his bed, walked toward a large mirror hanging on the wall, and stared at his shirtless self. The scratch marks and bruises all over his scrawny face and body proved that _what happened_ wasn't just a dream. He noticed the strange black markings written around his waist like a tattooed belt. At the center of this "belt," around his navel, were two concentric circles of similar markings.

At that moment, flashes of yesternight's events occurred to his mind:

_"Do you accept the soul binder as a tool to lease your body to an Illusori?"_

_"W-what?"_

_"Just say yes!"_

_"Yes!"_

_"Do you accept Valtere as the Illusori who will merge with you using the soul binder?"_

_"Yes!"_

_"Then, let the binding begin!"_

_The bind!_ Hiro thought. If what happened last night was indeed true, then some spirit named Valtere was fused into his body. Without thinking, Hiro whispered in the air, half-expecting someone to answer him. "Are you there?"

There was no response, apart from the sound of the ticking clock on the desk. He repeated, this time louder, "Are you there? Your name's Valtere, right?"

There still was no answer. Hiro called for the spirit again and again, until he was convinced that "Valtere" wasn't really there and he was just making a fool of himself.

He then took a bath.

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_**Sakaguchi Family House (Dining Room) – 7:23 a.m.**_

Dressed in his gakuran*, Sakaguchi Hiro went down the dining room to see his elder sister Natsumi who was preparing their breakfast.

"Ohayou, nee-chan," he greeted.

"Ohayou, Hiro-kun!" replied Natsumi gleefully, "Are your wounds healed already?"

"Still hurts a bit... But I'm okay, really," He said, seeing his onee-chan doing that overly-worried face again, which he thought looked cute and stupid.

"Ah, I see. You really had me up all night! Say, have you been on a fight? But I know Hiro-kun wouldn't involve himself with such stuff…"

"I, uh... I went to a classmate for a group project. I fell off my bike," Hiro lied, nodding briskly.

"That badly?" his sister sounds unconvinced. "So you weren't with Yui-chan, then?"

"Uh, Yui-chan?" Hiro's eyes widened. _Did onee-chan know?_ He thought.

"Yui's parents called yesterday. They said she still hasn't returned home after going to a classmate's house…" Natsumi explained, "Which reminds me, maybe I should call their house today to ask if she was already there. I'm really worried for her…"

His sister said more things, but Hiro wasn't listening anymore. His mind was fully occupied with a very horrible thought about Yui's fate.

"Yui…" he suddenly muttered. At once, he stood up from his chair and took his bag. "Onee-chan, I have to go now!"

"But you still haven't finished your meal!" cried Natsumi, "Oi, Hiro!"

"I'm full!" Hiro answered and left their house immediately.

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_**Yukai Soba Restaurant – 7:42 a.m.**_

Yukai Soba was a very popular eatery around that place, because it didn't just serve the most delicious soba recipe in town, but it also emanates happiness – the joy of living – to its customers.

_But today it would be different_, Hiro said to himself. There was an ambiance of melancholy over the still unopened eatery. Pictures of the restaurant owners, Yui's parents, crying for their missing daughter flooded his thoughts. Hiro blamed himself for what happened. Thus he stood there, in front of the restaurant's door, waiting for someone to come out so he could apologize deeply. After a few minutes, the door opened. he lowered his head at once.

"GOMENASAI!"

"What are you doing, Hiro-kun?" came a girl's voice in front of Hiro. He knew that voice very well. Hiro looked up and saw Yui trying hard not to burst out laughing.

"Yui!" Hiro exclaimed. He couldn't contain his happiness that he almost dived onto Yui trying to embrace the girl. One powerful** smack** landed on Hiro's cheeks that sent him face down on the ground. "_Pervert!_" shouted Yui. It took several seconds before Yui realized just how destructive her punch was.

"Uhm... Hiro-kun, are you okay?" asked Yui, while helping Hiro stand up.

"Never better," he answered smiling. The girl noticed the wounds on his arms and face. "Oh my god… did I just do that?"

"No, I got it from last night, remember?" replied Hiro, trying to cover his bruises. Yui seemed puzzled, "Last night? I don't know – I had to sleep early because I was not feeling well. What happened to you?"

"What did you say?" it was now Hiro who looked puzzled. _She slept early? That's impossible!_ He was very sure that it was Yui who went together with him last night! _Just what is happening?_

"Hiro-kun, are you okay?"

"Are you sure you don't remember anything, Yui-chan?"

"What should I remember?" she combed her long hair using her fingers.

"Last night, we went to school to look for the bike-riding ghost! Remember, the pillar? The…" Hiro was about to say "the monsters" but the image of Yui being taken by those creatures resurfaced in his memory.

"The what?" Yui looked troubled, "Are you sure you're okay, Hiro-kun?"

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_**Tennotsukai Academy – Class 3-A – 8:19 a.m.**_

Hiro's wounds were the third years' center of attention that day. They all know that Hiro wouldn't ever pick up a fight against anyone. Sure he was a bit nerdy, but no one had ever dared bully him, perhaps because he was a member of the well-known Sakaguchi family.

"Say, was it Kazama's gang from Akadou High?" asked Kanzaki Anna, Hiro and Yui's classmate and fellow staff member of the Angel's VOICE newspaper club.

"No, they're not," answered Hiro halfheartedly, because he noticed her asking half-heartedly too.

"The Tora Bikers?" said another student behind him.

"Not either." Hiro shook his head.

"Alright! Our next issue's headline is decided: **Juvenile delinquents harass Sakaguchi-dono!**" announced Kagami Keisuke, another VOICE member, "How 'bout that, Suzuki-chan?"

"Don't decide that for yourself, Keisuke-kun," answered Yui, looking sternly at the spiky-head photographer. She then turned to Hiro "Who did that to you then?"

"I wasn't attacked by anyone! I just… fell off my bike," Hiro lied, saying the same reason that he gave to his sister earlier. He doesn't have any choice; the only supposed witness could not remember anything. The other two VOICE members, meanwhile, did not know about the investigation because it was a top secret between him and Yui.

There was a few seconds of silence, until Keisuke rebutted, "That could be a better title! **Sakaguchi-dono hurt in nasty bike crash!**"

"Keisuke!" snapped Yui, gesturing him to stop because Hiro's mood is starting to get really bad.

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_**Tennotsukai Academy – Class 3-A – 9:03 a.m.**_

Class 3-A's history teacher, Sugita-sensei, was as boring as usual. He was the major reason why most of Tennotsukai students find every school day a torture – to think that it was just the first subject. One particular person did not expect school to be _this_ dreary.

_"You have to sit for hours to listen to this old geezer? Oh come on!"_

Hiro was taken aback. He knew that voice. It was that same voice that talked to him last night. "Valtere." or whoever that was, was here! He turned his head around the room; no one but him seemed to have noticed the voice – except perhaps Sugita-sensei, who stopped reading his book for a couple of seconds before he resumed – but Hiro couldn't be so sure.

_"Why, boy? You looking for me?"_

At that moment Hiro spoke, "Where are you?" He didn't realize that his voice was loud enough for the whole class to hear it.

"What's the matter, Sakaguchi-kun?" said Sugita-sensei, adjusting his reading glasses.

"Uh, n-nothing, sensei." Hiro answered. Their teacher continued reading the book. Yui, who was sitting to his left, whispered, "What's wrong, Hiro-kun?"

"N-nothing." he answered firmly. Then again, he heard the familiar voice snigger.

"Are you making fun of me?" Hiro shouted. The whole class looked at him. Sugita-sensei called loudly, "Sakaguchi!"

"Uh, I… um... excuse me Sensei. I have to go to the clinic," Hiro stood up, holding the wounds in his arms and pretending that it is hurting.

The teacher accepted his excuse."You should have said that earlier. Off you go then,"

"Thank you, Sensei." Hiro bowed. He walked past his still perplexed classmates, and ran out of the room. Yui, Anna, and Keisuke looked bothered. Sugita-sensei, however, seemed thrilled.

"Very well... Good luck Sakaguchi-kun... and Valtere-san," whispered the old teacher.

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_**Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:12 a.m.**_

The rooftop: the quietest place in all Japanese high schools. It is a perfect place to cut classes and sleep, to be involved in some student brawling, to confess someone's love to another, and perhaps to do more than that. To Hiro, however, this place is perfect to let go the embarrassment he had felt from speaking to someone in thin air, right in the middle of a class.

"HWAAAAAAAAAH!"

The mysterious voice spoke once more,_ "Releasing stress, boy?"_

"This is all your fault!" Hiro clenched his fists, even though he knew that it was impossible to hit someone he couldn't even see.

_"Why? I didn't do anything!"_ the voice defended.

"WILL YOU PLEASE STOP TALKING IN MY HEAD!" Hiro barked. Fortunately, no one else was in the rooftop at that time.

_"But I ain't talking in your head,"_ defended Valtere, _"I'm right here."_

Hiro looked around, and found a translucent figure standing at his back.

_"Yo."_

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_**Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:16 a.m.**_

Valtere was a tall man, with long, silvery hair that reaches his shoulders, even though he looked no older than Hiro's big sister, Natsumi. He wore a black leather jacket, pants and boots, adorned with chains. In fact, Hiro thought Valtere looked like a character in a popular game he had played before.

"Took you so long to reveal yourself," Hiro said, still irated at the ghost.

_"Look, boy, sorry. I should've appeared to you early in the morning." _explained Valtere_.  
_

"Morning?" Hiro asked, "You mean, you've been watching over me since I woke up?"

_"No, I'm not watching over you!" _cleared Valtere,_ "I was within you."_

"Within me?"

_"Ever since we binded. Remember the Soul Binder?" _Valtere pulled up his jacket to reveal a belt-like tattoo around his waist similar to Hiro's.

"This," Hiro said, feeling his own tattoo with his hand, "is the soul binder?"

_"Yup." _Valtere nodded._  
_

"But I… I don't understand! Why did you merge your soul with me? What do you want? Who are those monsters before? Why doesn't Yui remember anything? How did I –"

_**"**Oi, oi. I said, don't ask all your questions at once!"_ interrupted Valtere, _"For one, I think the one who's responsible for your – well, friend's – memory loss is the Grave Maiden."_

"The Grave... Maiden?"

_"Yeah. She's also the one who conjured those – as you call them – monsters."_

"I... uh... Who is this Grave Maiden? What does she want?"

_"That I can't answer for now,"_ replied Valtere, giving a wink, _"I really don't know her personally; we only meet every new moon."_

"I still don't understand…"

_"Don't worry kiddo. Take your time to digest the bizarreness of it all."_

Hiro paused for a while, then asked again, "How about you, Valtere? Why did you bind with me? Where did you come from?"

_"Well it'll take hours before I can tell you my story in full, for now all I can say is that I came from that obelisk –"_

"I don't care! I can't trust you until you say who you really are. Tell me –" Hiro's badgering was disrupted by a bluish ball of energy that almost crashed right down to where Hiro and Valtere were.

"What was that?" a terrified Hiro asked the lucid man.

_"To your left!"_ Valtere yelled. Hiro dodged another energy ball, thanks to Valtere. The crash left a huge crater that went straight down the rooftop and into the rooms below.

"Oh my god… The students! The teachers!" Hiro was aghast. Could they have been killed? How about Yui? His other friends?

_"Don't worry, boy! We're in the Maiden's territory!"_ told Valtere, _"Everything'll be back to normal after we finish that monster!"_

"What do you mean?" Hiro looked up to where Valtere was pointing. He saw a large, blue, flying creature. Its head had large, sharp jaws that resemble that of a crocodile, and its broad wings had sharp metal edges like a knife. Its hands and feet weren't less dangerous, because it has claws that looked the same as its fangs. He noticed that the monster also bears the same glowing markings (an inverted triangle with a circle at each side) like the green-skinned monsters last night.

"We'll defeat that thing?"

_"Switch with me, boy! I'll be able to handle this!"_

"But how?"

_"Close your eyes!"_

Hiro did as Valtere instructed. He felt something cold enter his body through his abdomen.

* * *

_**Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:22 a.m.**_

"You there!" said Hiro's body, which is now occupied by Valtere's spirit, "Try not to get hit by the energy balls! It can also deal fatal blows to spirits!"

_"Understood,"_ Hiro answered, now a translucent ghost floating away from his own body and the blue monster, _**"**Take care of my body! It still hasn't recovered from last night!"_

"Will do that! This is both ours now!" replied Valtere.

H-Valtere raised his arm, closing his fists except the index and middle fingers. He waved his hand, and glowing symbols came out from the fingers, which travelled to where the belt tattoo is. The inscriptions on the tattoo reacted to the symbols, which materialized into a tangible belt. It was the same belt, with the rotating insignia at its center, which appeared when Hiro first accepted the pact with Valtere last night.

"Let's get this started then."

"HEN…" Valtere scrunched both his fists (_Hiro: Do you really have to do that weird pose?_), "SHIN!"

A large glowing version of the circular emblem in H-Valtere's belt appeared to where he was standing. Purple flames then crept out of the circle until it covered all of Hiro's body. A second later, a fast **swish** quenched the flame, revealing a masked, armored figure.

The warrior's purple helmet has reddish oval eyepieces that looked like insect's eyes. He wore a purple breastplate with streaks of red and black. He also had a dark blue cape that he used earlier to banish the purple flame (thus the swishing sound). Overall, Hiro (the spirit)'s weird imagination suggested that it looked like a humanoid, purple, hybrid between a bat and a scorpion.

"Now, little birdie! Come to daddy!" the transformed Valtere mocked the flying monster, who seemed to have understood his words, because it suddenly flew down and charged toward him.

_"Look out!"_ cried Hiro's spirit. Valtere leapt and dodged the scurrying monster, flipping in the process like he was just showing off.

"Is that all youuuuu got, eh?"

The monster launched three more energy balls, which again Valtere evaded gracefully. "You're not as strong as I thought! Now it's my turn!"

Valtere swiveled the emblem on his belt: a little clockwise turn on the outer circle; a half-revolution, counterclockwise turn on the inner circle; and another clockwise turn on the fat cross until the west arrow now pointed north. A strange female voice came out of the belt: "**ECRAND.**" Valtere pulled something out of the belt - a long javelin - to Hiro's amazement.

"Did you see that, boy!" Valtere boasted to the spirit of his host. He pointed to his belt, "I have more weapons here! 'm gonna show them to you next –"

_"Watch out!" _warned Hiro._  
_

Valtere was not very lucky this time. He was hit by the creature's flapping wings, throwing him far away from the rooftop and down the building.

_"Valtere!"_

**_(To be continued)_**

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Next time: Will Valtere be able to defeat the flying monster? What is a Territory? Why did the Grave Maiden erase Yui's memory?

_Stay tuned for _**Kamen Rider Valtere Episode 3:** **Valtere's Fighting Spirit! The Rider's Mission is Revealed!**

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_Notes:_

_* Traditional Japanese male school uniform._

_A/N: Okay, that was it! Chapter 2, done! Please do review! I'll really appreciate it. Anyway, just to aid you in imagining how the characters in this story look like, Valtere's ghost form resembles that of FF7's Sephiroth. In the KRV world, those video games actually exist. :D_

_As for his Illusori/Rider form, I'm actually imagining this rider to be a fusion of Knight (in Ryuki) and Sasword (in Kabuto) with my own additional touches to make it more mythical-looking rather than futuristic. I'll try to upload visualizations soon, but mind you, I can't draw well! Why purple? Why not? :P_


	3. Episode 3: Valtere's Fighting Spirit!

_**Disclaimer:** Kamen Rider and all related trademarks are © Toei and Ishimori Productions._

* * *

_**Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere:**_

Hiro, still in his gaseous state, glided to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. He saw Valtere face down on the ground, struggling to get on his feet.

"Valtere!" Hiro was awfully concerned, because **it was his body** that had just been slammed on the chest by the flying monster's wings and had fallen from the top of his school's five-storey building. Normally, people die after dropping from that height.

Thankfully, Hiro saw Valtere recover. The masked, armored warrior raised his hand and gestured a thumbs up.

_

* * *

_

**Episode 3: Valtere's Fighting Spirit! The Rider's Story is revealed!**

**

* * *

**

_**Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:29 a.m.**_

Valtere squatted a bit and rotated the outer circular emblem of his belt. The female voice in the belt said **"Muire," **and smaller versions of the rotating symbol appeared under each of his foot. When it seemed like he had stored enough energy, Valtere soared high in the air and landed on the rooftop.

He gave a stern look at the dragon-like creature, which was hovering above them as if it was waiting for him to recuperate.

"Now I'll really have to finish you off, you bastard!"

Valtere dashed straight to where the monster was and jumped so high until he was already higher than the creature. One hammer **kick** landed above the crocodile-like head, making the winged creature lose its balance and plunge into the building. Hiro was appalled when he saw the large hole on the rooftop's floor caused by the impact.

"I told you, don't worry. What you're seein' are just illusions," said Valtere, who descended stylishly beside Hiro and attempted to pat him on the back, but his hand just slipped straight through the young guy.

"Oh well, time to finish this." Valtere picked up his javelin (the one which he had lost grip after he was hit by the monster earlier) and walked toward the crater, where the reptile-like monster was trying to get straight back up after the nasty crash.

"Like I will let you fly away!" Valtere ran and jumped high again. He aimed at the monster and threw his javelin, which stopped in mid-air just before hitting the creature's glowing forehead (Hiro thus concluded that the monsters' weakest point was the triangular emblem on their forehead). The masked warrior shouted,** "FIERCE LANCE!"**

Valtere landed a flying kick on his javelin, thrusting it into the monster with such incredible force that made the monster burst in blue flames and finally explode.

"That marks the end for you, birdie."

* * *

_**Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 9:33 a.m.**_

Valtere pulled out the cross in the center of the Soul Binder a bit. The magical inscriptions that materialized the belt disengaged and then vanished. There was flash of purple light, and he was back in his normal (well, not totally normal, since he's still inside Hiro's body) appearance.

"We did it, boy!" he pranced, celebrating his victory against the blue, flying monster. Hiro, meanwhile, looked spaced out.

"Oi, oi. Didn't I tell you already?" Valtere said, "It'll be back to normal! Look…"

There was a sudden change in air pressure and, in a blink of an eye, the whole place returned to how it was before the fight.

"See! I told you!" Valtere said as-a-matter-of-factly. Hiro still didn't respond.

"Oi, kid! Aw, I forgot…" Valtere closed "Hiro's" eyes. His soul was siphoned out through the Soul Binder and re-assumed his a gaseous state. Meanwhile, the teenage boy's soul was sucked back into his body.

"Let's go, boy. You should be inside the infirmary, right?"

Hiro didn't move. Valtere's ghost went nearer and examined him. "Hey, what's the –"

Suddenly, Hiro dropped to the ground, unconscious. Valtere tried to carry Hiro before he totally passes out; but he couldn't, because he was, technically, a ghost.

* * *

_**Tennotsukai Academy – Clinic – 3:03 p.m.**_

"Sensei! Sakaguchi-dono woke up!"

Hiro could've slept longer if not for Keisuke's hyperactively loud voice reverberating inside the school clinic. He opened his eyes, and saw his fellow Angel's VOICE members sitting on his sickbed. Yui, who sat closest to him, said, "You had us worried sick! Are you all right?"

"I… I guess, yeah." he answered, still slightly groggy.

"You have been acting strangely since morning," stated Anna, "we couldn't help but worry,"

"I did?" Hiro asked. Flashes of this day's events occurred in his mind – Yui forgetting what happened last night, Valtere reappearing to him since the fight yesterday (where his body gained a lot of scratches and bruises), the rooftop battle…

"Takigawa-sensei's here!" announced Keisuke. The two girls stood aside while the school doctor, Takigawa Yuu, sat beside Hiro and felt his forehead with her hands.

"Your fever's gone down, thank goodness," said the female doctor who was in her late 20s. Hiro muttered, "Thank you, Sensei."

"You don't have to," refused Takigawa, smiling. "Say, have you fallen into something high, like a staircase?"

Hiro hesitated. No one would ever believe that his body just fell from the school rooftop. "I, uh… yes," he did not elaborate further.

"Geez… you do have terrible luck today, Saka-dono..." remarked Keisuke.

"I see... anyway, Sakaguchi-kun, I've called your sister: she'll be picking you up in an hour," informed Takigawa-sensei, "Meanwhile, just lie there and take a good rest, okay? I'll be going out for a bit."

"Yes, sensei," Hiro answered, and the doctor left the room. Yui, Keisuke and Anna bowed, "Thank you very much, Sensei!"

"I guess we should get going also," Yui told the other two, "We still have lots to do in the office."

They collected their bags and said their goodbyes to Hiro. Keisuke said. "Just call us if you need something, Sakaguchi-dono!" .

"I'll do that." he nodded.

The three opened the door and left. From afar, Hiro could still hear Keisuke's rowdy voice ("EHHHH! I'll do Sakaguchi-dono's articles? But I'm a photographer!"). Hiro smiled.

* * *

_**Tennotsukai Academy – Clinic – 3:21 p.m.**_

"You okay, buddy?" came a familiar voice.

"Oh, it's you,"Hiro said coldly when he saw Valtere's ghostly outline forming in front of him.

"What's that attitude for, eh?" the ghost raised his smoky eyebrows.

"You still have the guts to ask that…" Hiro threw a furious gaze at Valtere, "Isn't it because of you, that I got all these bruises in my body? Isn't it because of you, that now, my back hurts terribly?" Isn't it because of you that I am here in this clinic, suffering from injuries that I haven't even done myself?"

"Look , I'm sorry –"

"Your apology wouldn't change anything now, would it?" Hiro snapped, "Why am I lending you my body anyway? Who the hell are you? Why do I have to be involved in this, crazy, stuff?"

Valtere did not answer.

"Of course, you won't say it. You're always giving excuses when I try to discover about –"

"THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO…" Valtere interrupted. Hiro stopped and listened half-heartedly.

"… There was a kingdom called Ladinr. It had lived way older than the oldest civilizations ever recorded in your history books. It once proudly stood at the far east."

"There's no land in the far east," Hiro butted in, "all there is the Pacific Ocean."

"Exactly," Valtere answered, "The Pacific Ocean you know today was once a great continent named Lumeria. Ladinr was one of the countries that reigned over that region at that time."

"Back then, the only suitable place for humans on Earth was Lumeria. Majority of the planet was inhabited by violent, carnivorous creatures. To protect the people, the Allied Nations of Lumeria sent out their most knowledgeable sages to form a research guild called the Illusori Circle.

"Through the Illusoris' constant research, they were able to device a method to channel the earth's energy and utilize it. The Illusoris created the Natural Guards – volcanoes – to protect the continent from monster attacks. The Natural Guards still exist even today: the modern people, however, renamed it the 'Ring of Fire.'

Monster attacks soon ceased. The success of the Natural Guards led to the retention of the Illusori Circle, however, most of the countries decided to pull out their representatives to have them work for their own country's causes.

"Decades passed, and the existence of the Circle remained solely in Ladinr. The Illusoris at that time discovered yet another breakthrough that would soon change the fate of the whole continent – the channeling of the living spirit.

"Through spirit channeling, the Illusoris were able to maximize a human soul's potential – transforming one's own body into a form that makes full use of this power.

"The Soul Binder," Valtere pointed at his waist, "was an amplifying device used by the Illusoris to help them assume the transformations easily."

"With more Illusoris being able to transform successfully, the King of Ladinr decided that the common people be also granted acceptance to the Illusori circle, provided that they pass a single test – a mediated transformation. Soon enough, the Illusori Circle itself evolved from a research facility to a Military Headquarters; and the Illusoris themselves from sages to soldiers.

"The other countries were threatened of Ladinr's fast-rising military power. The Allied Nations formed the Orstan Circle, a research guild aimed to rival the Illusori and provide a means of defense if war breaks out.

"The technology of the Orstan was very different than the Illusoris. Instead of using spirit channeling, the Orstan sages enhanced the previous earth channeling technique; producing new creatures which they called the Aguima, or literally in our language, 'Breathed by the Earth.'

"The Aguima, as their name suggested, were nonliving creatures that was being animated by the Orstans by infusing some of the Earth's energy inside them. It was a very scary technique, as only one skilled Orstan was enough to deploy legions of animated creatures.

"The green monsters we fought last night, and the flying croco this morning, were Aguimas."

Hiro continued to listen, but he doubted whether he could still take in all the information Valtere was blurting out at that moment.

* * *

_**Tennotsukai Academy – Clinic – 3:35 p.m.**_

"War inevitably broke out between Ladinr and the rest of Lumeria. The Allied leaders' paranoia led them to make the first attack, sending hundreds of thousands of Aguima creatures. One advantage of the Orstans was that they can mold any form for an Aguima – be it flying, crawling, running, or swimming – as long as they can channel the earth's energy throughout its body. The Illusoris were limited to one form – the form most suitable to their power – mostly masked warriors.

"I was an Illusori that fought during that war. The battle was ugly; we were greatly outnumbered by the Aguimas, and many of us died in the battle. One night, while the King was being secrectly escorted outside Ladinr to escape, he was cornered by the Aguima troops and was brutally murdered. We thought that was the end for us, until Lord Filleus, Commander of the Illusori Circle and a trusted friend, encouraged us to fight till the end.

"Under Filleus, we achieved miraculous victories, killing thousands of Aguimas with just a few casualties on our side…"

Valtere stopped. Hiro asked, "And then?"

"I… I didn't know what happened after that," Valtere answered, "I… died."

"You were killed?"

"I… forgot," Hiro could see Valtere's confusion when he said that.

"So these… Aguimas. Why are they here in Tennotsukai?"

"I can't answer for now," Valtere answered, "All I know is that I have to finish them off before they will be totally revived and spread terror in the modern world."

Hiro laughed frigidly. "So this is just the start, eh? There will be more battles, and what injury would I gain next time? Broken arm, fractured ribs, punctured skull?"

"I'm sorry boy. I'll be very, very careful next –"

"COULD I BREACH THE CONTRACT?" Hiro retorted.

"W-what?" Valtere asked, dumbstruck.

"I don't want to be your host anymore. Let me out of this battle of yours," Hiro said crossly, "I only accepted the bind at that time because I have to save Yui-chan. When we did the pact, you didn't mention that the bind stays after that night. Technically, this should be null and void!"

Valtere did not speak. He let Hiro's fury storm over him; after all, it really was his fault that the young guy was now lying in the school clinic.

"But of course, you'll say that I can't back out, ne?" Hiro continued, "I'll have to endure until you lead my body to its dea –"

"You may back out, if you want." Valtere affirmed with a long face. There was silence between them for some minutes, until Valtere once again spoke. "See ya then, kiddo."

Slowly, in a moment that seemed like forever, Hiro saw Valtere's spirit slowly fade away.

* * *

_**Tennotsukai Academy – Rooftop – 6:01 p.m.**_

Sugita Takanori, a History teacher in the Tennotsukai Academy, stood before the edge of the school rooftop, watching the orange sun slowly hide under the dark outline of the far mountains. He wasn't alone; to his right stood a person who wore a brown cowl, and whose face was covered by the hood's shadow.

Sugita spoke, "You've pushed Sakaguchi-kun a little too hard, haven't you?"

The mysterious person, who was a woman, replied, "That was… for the better."

"Was it really?" Sugita asked apprehensively.

"Don't worry. I've already made the necessary preparations. Sakaguchi won't be able to back out of this," the Grave Maiden answered. The two then continued watching the setting sun, until the color of the sky started to turn into a shade of violet.

* * *

_**Yukai Soba Restaurant – 7:00 p.m.**_

"Yui! Will you please take the order of that oji-san over there!" called Yui's mother, Suzuki Masako.

"Hai!" answered the girl.

The ambience inside Yukai Soba restaurant was as lively as ever. It was unaffected by the looming terror that was lurking just outside the famous eatery, waiting for its prey: the girl named Suzuki Yui...

**_(To be continued)_**

* * *

_Next time: Is this the end of Valtere and Hiro's contract? What is the Grave Maiden planning to do? What will happen to Yui?_

_Stay tuned for_ **Episode 4: The Grave Maiden's Grave Plans! VOICE in Big Trouble!**

**

* * *

**

_But the show is not over yet… coz it's _**Super Hero Time!**

**Keisuke:** Good day, everyone! From the Angel's VOICE Headquaters, this is... (dun! dun! dun!) News from Heaven! My name is Kagami Keisuke, yoroshiku onegai shimasu! (bows) Starting today, this broadcast will be regularly seen after every episode of Kamen Rider Valtere! Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu! (bows again)

**Hiro:** Oi, oi, Keisuke! Don't get excited too easily!

**Keisuke:** But you look so excited too, Sakaguchi-dono!

**Hiro:** Baka, what do I have to be so excited about? I'm already the star here!

**Anna: **Which reminds me, um, why is Sakaguchi-san here? I thought this portion is _only_ for those who get limited exposure in the show?

**Hiro:** I, uh… I don't know! Shouldn't you be asking the one who wrote this stuff?

**Valtere: **We have no choice but to do this, y'know…

**Hiro:** Oi, Valtere! What are you doing here? If Keisuke and Kanzaki-chan sees you –

**Keisuke:** Don't worry, Sakaguchi-dono! This is non-canon, remember?

**Hiro:** Uh, yeah… right.

**Anna:** Shouldn't we start already? We've been consuming too much airtime for this nonsense!

**Keisuke:** Um, yeah, let's start then! Here is today's NEWS FROM HEAVEN!

**Anna:** We will be having a special interview with a certain "Sooru Bainda"…

**Hiro:** That's "Soul Binder…" Oi, matte! The Soul Binder can't talk!

**Soul Binder:** But in this segment, I can, Hiro-kun.

**Hiro:** Woah, where the hell did you come from?

**Soul Binder:** I'm from your waist, of course! Though at times I wonder, why do I have to cling myself to some skinny guy like you? Master Valtere's body wasn't like that when he was… alive.

**Hiro:** Well, you've got no choice then. I am your master now! Bwahahaha!

**Anna:** Randomness, again.

**Keisuke:** Now, onto the next news…

* * *

_**A/N:** That was it! End of Episode 3! Hope you like the episodes so far. Please, please, do leave comments! I would love to hear from all of you!_

**Keisuke:** Oi! Writer! I'm still not finished yet!

_**A/N:** There's still next episode, Keisuke… or not. (sticks out tongue)_

**Hiro:** Bwahahahaha!


	4. Episode 4: Grave Maiden's Grave Plans!

Disclaimer: Kamen Rider is owned by Toei, Bandai, and Ishimori Productions. I want to thank all the readers of this fic so far; rest assured that I will do my best to give you a story that is really worth reading. This story is best viewed in 1/2 page mode.

* * *

_**Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere:**_

_Valtere defeated the Wivere* Aguima that attacked them on the school rooftop. Hiro's body, however, suffered from terrible injuries due to the fight. Fearing the danger that lay ahead, Hiro opted to end the soul-binding contract with Valtere._

_Meanwhile, the Grave Maiden was devising a plan to make Hiro change his mind._

_

* * *

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**Episode 4: The Grave Maiden's Grave Plans! VOICE in big trouble!**

**

* * *

**

_**Friday - Tennotsukai Academy – Class 3-A – 8:11 a.m.**_

"ZECT** Paradise?" Kanzaki Anna asked, as blankly as ever. Kagami Keisuke nodded, showing his right hand that held four tickets to the famous theme park.

"My father gave me these. He wanted me to invite you guys to its grand opening tomorrow," informed Keisuke who, contrary to Anna, was looking as hyper as ever.

"That's fun!" exclaimed Yui, "So, that means, we'll gain exclusive coverage of the event?"

"Exclusive coverage?" Anna said, "I thought you are excited on the rides..."

"I am! But of course I'm much more interested in getting the big scoop," answered Yui promptly. Anna paused at the thought, "What about Sakaguchi?"

Keisuke frowned, until he saw the familiar figure of a tall, skinny guy, with bandages in many parts of his body, entering the classroom.

"I told you he's coming today," Yui smiled.

"Saka-dono!" cried Keisuke like a child who was reunited with his mother after many years.

"Hey, It's not like I died or something," reacted Hiro, "So what's up?"

Yui gazed inquisitively. "You're surprisingly fine today, Hiro! Have you recovered that quickly?"

He nodded, "Just had a good rest, I guess."

Truth is, Hiro himself was surprised. When he woke up this morning, he didn't feel his back hurt like before, and most of his wounds have healed so fast. He felt so light and relieved that he almost forgot all the things that happened yesterday. He even almost forgot that he told Valtere he wanted to end the contract.

Then again, Hiro couldn't be completely blamed for not remembering. Valtere hadn't reappeared to him after their conversation yesterday. Hiro couldn't tell if the silver-haired Illusori already left him for good, because he still had the belt tattoo marked around his waist. He felt a bit guilty on the way he treated Valtere yesterday. He was too angry and scared that he didn't even realize the words that were coming out of his mouth.

Perhaps he was just too overwhelmed with what's happening around him. He only wanted a normal life; he didn't have that "superhero" complex or whatever they call it, and never would he ever wish to have it. His life was already too complicated to be involved in such stuff._ Valtere gave me a chance to be a hero. And I declined it. _He thought._  
_

"It is decided then. Next issue's feature story will be: "**Trip to _Paradise_! Exclusive VOICE Preview!** Hiro-kun, you're gonna write this one," Yui ordered. Her voice snapped Hiro back into reality.

"Eh? Why me?" asked Hiro in shock, "But I already had that –"

"Your story on Tennotsukai pond's gold-shelled crayfish will now officially be done by Keisuke –"

"Oi, Suzuki-chan! I'm a… okay, I'll do it," answered Keisuke, who clammed up when he saw Yui's imperious stare.

* * *

_**Friday - Unknown Location – Nighttime**_

The room was shady; the candle-lit lamps hanging on the walls contributed very little illumination, nevertheless enough for the two people inside to see each other. Sugita spoke, looking intently to the table where the Grave Maiden was seated. "So this is… what you mean when you said you had a plan?"

The Maiden, dressed in a white cowl with the hood almost covering its face, answered in a somewhat misty voice, "I thought you already know… that I hate being interrupted, right?"

"My apologies," Sugita lowered his head. The Grave Maiden beamed, turning her sight back to the parchment that lay on the table.

"Tell me, Esquirra, am I being mean to Sakaguchi?" the Maiden asked, still reading the contents of the parchment. Sugita, who recognized at once when he was called "_Esquirra"_ by the Grave Maiden, replied, "If you ask me, yes."

"I see." said the Maiden.

"That technique," Sugita ogled at the parchment, "you don't mean to torture his mind, do you?"

"No, of course not," the Maiden answered with a smile, "I just want to straighten his resolve."

* * *

_**Saturday – Sakaguchi Residence – 9:03 a.m.**_

Hiro rushed down the stairs to see Yui, Anna and Keisuke waiting for him in the receiving room. "Hey, why are you guys here? You didn't have to pick me up!"

"Why not, Hiro? Aren't you glad that _Yui-chan_ and the others actually cared about you?" snapped Natsumi, Hiro's older sister, who was also downstairs. Hiro noticed that Natsumi emphasized Yui's name, which made him blush a bit. "And what's with those clothes? You should've worn something more fashionable, like a Johnny's!"

"I'm fine with this, nee-chan!" said Hiro irritably.

"No it's not! And your hair – make it more ikemen-like!" Natsumi stroked Hiro's hair with her hand, but Hiro was pushing her hand away.

"Stop it, nee!" Hiro cried childishly. He glanced at Yui, who looked stunning in a blue dress, laughing at him.

"That's Sakaguchi-dono for you! Very independent, not following the trend, instead making his own statement!" hollered Keisuke.

"Geez Kagami… Stop sounding like you're the president of the Sakaguchi Hiro fanclub…" said Anna spitefully.

* * *

_**Saturday – ZECT Paradise – 10:20 a.m.**_

"Everyone, thank you for coming in this momentous event. Have fun in _Paradise_!" ZECT President Kagami Arata said, concluding his speech and the whole opening program.

The people at the venue applauded. Some men and women in suits and elegant dresses respectively, shook hands with the ZECT president while the other visitors immediately rushed into the newly-built amusement park to try the attractions. A camera flash took Kagami-san's attention. He looked at where the light came from and saw his son, Kagami Keisuke, taking shots of him. "Keisuke! How was my speech, eh?"

"Great, tochan!" Keisuke answered, "Oh, by the way, I have brought Sakaguchi-dono and the others here!"

"Hiro-kun!" Kagami-san muttered as he saw the group walking toward him, "I guess you're already worn out being addressed '–dono' by my son, aren't you?"

"Not really, Kagami-san," Hiro responded, "I've grown used to it."

"Sakaguchi secretly loves being called a 'lord,' if I would say," commented Anna snidely. Everybody laughed. Kagami-san then talked to Yui. "Suzuki-chan! You're getting more beautiful each time we meet!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Kagami-san," Yui said politely.

"I wouldn't even wonder if either Keisuke or Hiro here would ask you out for a date soon…"

"Nah, father, she's one of the boys," snapped Keisuke. Hiro pretended not to hear what Kagami-san had said, or else his face would burn like crazy. President Kagami spoke again, "Keisuke, why don't you take them for a tour inside? We have a lot of unique rides here."

"No problem, tochan!" the president's son gave a thumbs-up.

"Off you go, then. I have a meeting to attend to," Kagami-san said with a smile. Hiro and the others smiled back.

"Thank you very much, Kagami-san!" the VOICE members bowed as the ZECT President waved goodbye to them.

* * *

**ZECT Paradise – 10:45 a.m.**

"100% cool… no, 110% cool!" Yui exclaimed.

"What?" Hiro was confused.

"Kagami-san, that is!" Yui answered, "Even as the president of such a big company, he's still as striking and lively as ever! He even called me beautiful…"

"No wonder Keisuke's just as lively…" muttered Hiro, sounding a bit annoyed.

The four teenagers strolled inside the theme park. They went into different places: first into "Mirror World," a house full of mirrors; then into ZECT's famed "WORM," a hologram monster that copies the appearance of people who looked directly at it; next into the "time-travelling" train called the Den-Liner; then into the "Fangire Castle" which is, in essence, a horror house; and they also embarked on a journey into the "Caves of the Linto Tribe."

They also had fun playing with the robot called "Auto-Vajin," created by ZECT's partner company, Smart Brain. Lastly, they tried beating a costumed Oni named Hibiki in the Ongeki: drum-playing challenge before taking a break at the Agito Restaurant.

* * *

**Agito Restaurant (inside ZECT Paradise) – 12:59 p.m.**

"Ah! That was exhausting!" Keisuke remarked.

"Here are your orders! _Insalata Della Casa_, _Bruschetta Ala Romana_, _Linguine Pomodoro_, _Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Cannelloni_," announced the waiter, who then served their food on the table.

"They sure have weird names for such simple dishes," Anna sneered.

"Alright then! Itadakimasu!" shouted Keisuke. The others followed and they all ate.

"You seem deeply in thought, Hiro. Anything wrong?" Yui asked Hiro, who was unusually quiet.

"No, nothing." Hiro answered. Thoughts about Valtere still bothers him.

"Hey, I have an idea," Yui declared, " Why don't we take a group picture?"

"Great, I have the camer –" offered Keisuke, but Yui interrupted him.

"No, not your camera. Let's do it in a studio," Yui pointed outside the window, to a place called Hikari Photo Studio, "What do you think, Anna?"

"Not bad, let's go after we e –"

_"AHHH!"_

Hiro and the others heard loud screams from outside. They looked at the window, and saw a lot of people running away. Some costumers also panicked and went out of the restaurant at once. Yui turned her head left and right, "What's happening?".

"I don't know, but we should get out of here, quick!" answered Hiro, who seemed to have a gist of what's happening. The four of them stood up and ran to the doorway.

* * *

**ZECT Paradise – 1:21 p.m.**

Moments ago, this place was paradise. This time, however, the newly-opened theme park was saddled with chaos. People, young and old, were running for their life while they were being chased by green, imp-like monsters with glowing symbols in the forehead. Hiro, who was already outside the Agito Restaurant, saw this and was aghast. He clearly remembered those creatures – they were the same ones who attacked Yui and him the other night.

"What are those?" asked Yui, horror-struck.

"You don't remember?" Hiro asked back, even though he already knew the answer. Yui lost her memories of that night's events.

"You mean, you know what these are, Sakaguchi?" asked Anna who, for the first time, showed intense emotion.

"I've not heard of this…" muttered Keisuke.

One Ympe Aguima* noticed them, and started charging towards their direction. Hiro yelled, "RUN!"

They advanced as fast as they could. More and more Ympes were now following them. "Why are they after us?" cried Keisuke.

"Maybe they wanted the President's son! Keisuke, turn yourself in!" shouted Anna.

"Oi, this isn't the time for jokes!" Yui said, panting.

_No, it wasn't Keisuke. It's me who they want I think,_ Hiro said to himself. They continued to run, striding past the WORM, who duplicated the image of the Aguima; and bumping with the guy who wore the Hibiki costume earlier.

"Let's go hide on the Mirror House!" ordered Keisuke, still running.

"Maybe it wasn't a good idea," said Anna.

"Hey, wait! Keis – "shouted Hiro, but it was too late. Keisuke had already entered the Mirror House when a big, dark, energy ball crashed into it and exploded the house.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – 1:44 p.m.**_

It happened so fast that they couldn't believe their eyes. Shattered mirrors flew away in the air, as the Mirror House, with Keisuke in it, was blown into pieces. "KEISUKE!"

The three of them trembled. Yui cried out in tears. Anna muttered, "That's too cruel."

Hiro was the most affected. He was the one involved in this battle, yet innocent people are dying in his place.

"No…" Hiro swayed his head in disbelief, "NO!"

Anna looked around and saw a horde of Ympes watching, but not dashing toward them. She turned her head up, and spotted the blue, flying monster that launched the attack on the Mirror House.

"I think we should run away now," she said, but Yui seemed not to listen. Hiro stood up, tears flowing from his eyes, "Let's go."

* * *

**ZECT Paradise – 1:50 p.m.**

It took a while for Yui to recover, but the Aguimas didn't do anything until they started running again. Now, it wasn't just the Ympes who were following them, but a flying Wivere* too.

The Wivere sent off another round of destructive spheres, blasting the Den-Liner out of track and demolishing the Fangire Castle. The people trying to escape from the castle (which was built like a maze) didn't survive. Meanwhile, the Ympes continued to chase after Hiro, running over the Auto-Vajin (which short-circuited and set ablaze) in the process. When they reached the Linto Cave, the three of them decided to stop.

"I… can't anymore," said Yui, catching her breath. Flashes of a previous incident returned to Hiro's mind, the night when he and Yui set off to investigate the bike-riding ghost:

"_I… c-can't… any…more…"_

"_Just a little more! Come on!"_

_But it was too late. The monsters already caught up with them and seized Yui.

* * *

_

_Is this the end?_ Hiro thought. For a while now he felt tempted to call for Valtere, but his pride won't allow it.

_The hell with pride! _said the other part of his mind. _Keisuke and many other people died because of that pride!_

_But what do I do?_ retorted another part. _I don't even know if Valtere's still inside me!_

_Then why don't you try?_

_But…_

There was a loud **swoosh**, and then a massive explosion. The Wivere fired at the Linto Cave, destroying it and sending a storm of dust and rocks toward Hiro and the others.

"AHHHHH!" Hiro heard Yui and Anna's shrieks as he ducked to avoid the flying rocks. He called for them in the midst of the gust. "Anna! Yui!"

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – 2:09 p.m.**_

The aftereffect of the cave explosion subsided. Large rock chunks filled the area, while street lamps were blown over. Ice cream stalls, tables, chairs, umbrellas and the like were also flown apart. Mysteriously, all the Aguimas disappeared after that explosion. Hiro, who was fortunately unharmed, surveyed the place, hoping to see Anna and Yui in one piece. But what he discovered was too much for his mind to bear.

He saw Anna's unmoving hand under the lump of rock. Dozens of other people were also down, though he couldn't infer if they were dead or just unconscious. Yui, on the other hand, was out of sight. Hiro knelt, horror and guilt-stricken. "This couldn't be happening... This couldn't be happening!" he wept.

A few minutes later, while Hiro was still crying in grief, someone appeared in front of him. That person wore a purple cowl, with the hood almost covering the face. Hiro veered his head up, and saw the mysterious person looking back at him.

The hooded woman spoke, in an ironically airy voice, "Hello, Sakaguchi-kun."

**_(To be continued)_**

* * *

_Next Time__**:**_ With all these tragedies happening, where the hell is Valtere?

Stay tuned for **Episode 5: Nightmare on Paradise! Confrontation with the Maiden!**

_The first sub-arc of Kamen Rider Valtere is about to conclude! Stay tuned for the action-packed continuation!_

_(**Super Hero Time Announcer:** There will be no SHT this time, as respect to this segment's hosts who unfortunately suffered a terrible fate in this episode of Kamen Rider Valtere. If you ask me, the writer might've done that to get rid of Keisuke-san, who started to become really, really demanding :P)_

* * *

_Notes:_

_* I've decided to give official names to the Aguima, in the same manner as how the Kaijins/monsters were labeled in real Kamen Rider shows. The Aguima types will be loosely based on folkloric creatures. Up to this part, two kinds were introduced: the **Ympe Aguima** (the green monsters in the first chapter, and in this one) and the **Wivere Aguima** (the blue, flying monster with a crocodile head)._

_** A reference to ZECT, the name of the organization which manages the Masked Rider systems in KR Kabuto. The ZECT in this story, however, is very different (well, for the most part) from the canon. Also throughout this chapter were a lot (and I mean a massive lot) of other references, didn't you notice?_

_Added note for those who may be asking: HEY? IS THIS AU OR SOMETHING? The answer is YES and NO. Yes, because you could consider it like that __(Story-wise, the world of KR Valtere is a world where most of the previous Kamen Rider characters are coexisting, devoid of their knowledge whatsoever of their own Rider systems), and No, because you won't see them be involved in Hiro's Rider stuff (they were just meant to be cameos, for the mean time ^^,)_


	5. Episode 5: Nightmare in Paradise!

_**Disclaimer:** All names of places and people described herein are entirely fictional. Kamen Rider and all related trademarks are © Toei and Ishimori Productions. This story is best viewed in 1/2 page mode._

* * *

**_Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere:_**

_Through an invitation from ZECT President Kagami Arata, the Angel's VOICE members Suzuki Yui, Sakaguchi Hiro, Kanzaki Anna, and Kagami Keisuke (the president's son) were able to witness the grand opening of Sonoda City's newest amusement park: ZECT Paradise._

_It was a fun event, until it turned into a tragedy that no one had ever imagined. Scores of Aguimas came out of nowhere and destroyed everything in their path. The other monsters chased Hiro and his group. Keisuke and Anna were unfortunately killed in the pursuit, while Yui is out of sight._

* * *

A camera flash blinded Hiro for a second, just as he was about to enter the newspaper club's office. He rubbed his eyes and looked again; he saw the familiar figure of a guy almost as tall as him, with spiky, blonde-dyed hair.

"Konnichiwa, Sakaguchi-dono!" Keisuke greeted. Hiro acknowledged by nodding blankly, but Keisuke wasn't happy with this lack of reaction.

"Oi!" Keisuke shouted, taking Hiro aback, "shouldn't you be saying 'Konnichiwa Keisuke! How are you today?' or something like that?"

"Who on earth would say that?" Hiro replied.

"Another Kagami-kun, maybe?" said by the short-haired, dark-skinned girl who was typing in front of a desktop computer beside them.

Hiro laughed, "Right you are, Anna-chan!" He walked to face his own computer situated on the far left side of the room. Keisuke followed him.

"Hey, what's funny? Isn't it just proper to greet your friends that way? Oi, Saka -"

"Konnichiwa minna!" a female voice came from the doorway. The people inside turned their heads towards the door and found a long-haired, fair-skinned girl whose sense of style resembles those from shojo mangas.

At last, Keisuke seemed to have found someone who would give him a proper reply, "Konnichiwa, Suzuki-chan! How are you today?"

Yui was bemused, "Eh? Didn't we just see each other in class?"

"No! You should've answered 'I'm fine! How about you Kei-kun?'" explained Keisuke, acting like a moe character.

"Okay…" said Yui nonchalantly, "good luck with that." Hiro and Anna burst out laughing.

"Oi, minna! What's funny?" yelled Keisuke.

_Such was a daily sight inside the Angel's VOICE office. It seems only yesterday when Hiro and the others were having fun like this, but now… now…_

* * *

**Episode 5: Nightmare in Paradise! Confrontation with the Maiden!

* * *

**

**_Saturday – ZECT Paradise – 2:13 p.m. _**

Large chunks of rock filled the once picturesque landscape of the ZECT Paradise. Street lamps were blown over. Ice cream stalls, tables, chairs, umbrellas and other similar things were flown apart. Bodies of people, both living and dead lay around the place like mannequins. The monsters that perpetrated these suddenly disappeared after the Wivere Aguima's last attack at the Linto Cave. Hiro rose from the rubble, miraculously unharmed despite the catastrophic scenario. He stood face-to-face with the woman who wore a purple cowl, with a hood almost entirely covering her face.

"Hello, Sakaguchi-kun."

Hiro wiped out the tears off his eyes before he gave a response, "Who… who are you? Are you the one who did this? What do you want?"

The Grave Maiden seemed surprised. "So it's true then. You ask so many questions at once. And… shouldn't you be saying first '_Konnichiwa! How are you?'_"

"Don't play around with me!" Hiro's fury started to build up as he remembered someone very close to him who used to say those words. The Maiden however, seemed to enjoy see Hiro being provoked like that. "Alright honey… I'll tell you who I am. I'm the Grave Maiden."

* * *

Flashbacks appeared in Hiro's mind, first from the night when it all started:

_" Now, Grave Maiden! Look how I crumble your minions into dust!"_

And then the rooftop incident:

"_For one, I think the one who's responsible for your – well, friend's – memory loss is the Grave Maiden."_

_ "The Grave Maiden?"_

_ "Well, she's also the one who conjured those – as you call them – monsters."_

_ "Who is this Grave Maiden? What does she want?"_

_ "That I can't answer for now," replied Valtere, "I really don't know her personally; we only meet every new moon."

* * *

_

"Why, didn't dear Valtere mention about me?" the Maiden asked in a creepily sweet manner, when she didn't get the reaction she was expecting from Hiro.

"He did. He said you summoned all those monsters," answered the latter who was desperately trying to look blasé despite the Maiden's frightful presence.

"Yes… I did those. Do you know why?"

Hiro did not speak.

The Maiden answered her own question, "Because that's what we're supposed to do – to make the world know about our existence by spreading… terror.

"A forgotten art… the Aguima," she continued, "If my power could blow down a large place like this in minutes, imagine if there are a dozen of us who have the same ability…"

She grinned devilishly, "We can destroy the world… or conquer it." Hiro felt the weight of the Maiden's last words.

"Then again," she strolled around the area, past the large rock that fell under Anna, "there are some… spirits… who will do anything to oppose me, like the one inside you, Sakaguchi-kun."

"Valtere," Hiro replied reluctantly. The Maiden nodded.

"He was quite a stubborn fellow, to tell the truth. What could a mere ghost do? Scare me to death?" she laughed maniacally, "I gave him a chance to join my cause. Every month I visit his grave to convince him to change his mind. But he would not falter.

"Then Wednesday came – a new moon. Two nosy students bravely treaded the darkness of their school despite the ridiculously scary rumors that I myself had concocted… and they found Valtere's tomb.

"I sent my pet Aguimas to ward you off, because the worst thing that could happen is Valtere being able to possess a living body, activating his power.

"But I was too late," there was a fake sadness in the Maiden's voice, "Valtere's already made a pact with you."

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – 2:22 p.m.**_

"Even so," the Grave Maiden approached Hiro who was still rooted in his spot out of curiosity and terror, "it seemed like I don't have anything to worry about because…"

"Valtere was mistaken… choosing a WEAK person like you…" she breathed on Hiro's ears.

"Kisama!" with clenched fists, Hiro reached out to strike the hooded figure, but the latter merely glided away to avoid the attack.

The Maiden gave a cold laugh, "You really think you can hit me?"

Hiro ran up to the Maiden as fast as he could, once again throwing a punch that was powered up by his loathing – to the Maiden whose twisted mind brought forth this tragedy, and to himself because he could not do anything but see his friends dying like that.

"Not so fast, Hiro-kun!" the Maiden taunted. With a wave of hand she summoned a wall of rock in front of her. Hiro let out a scream of pain after his fists landed on this wall, hurting him.

"Aw, sorry…" she jeered as she once again glided far away from him.

"You bastard!" Hiro went after the Maiden.

"Why, Sakaguchi-kun? Why fight? You have nothing to fight for! Your friends are dead already!"

"Quit talkin' you jerk!" shouted Hiro, who tried to hit the Maiden again, but to no avail.

"It's pointless!" the hooded woman yelled back. She stretched her right arm out; yellowish smoke rose out from underneath which built up in front of her palm like a spherical cloud. The Maiden threw the cloud forward which hit Hiro and threw him far away on the ground.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – 2:30 p.m.**_

_She was right,_ he thought. _I am weak; I wasn't able to protect my friends, and heck, I couldn't even avenge them._

_Valtere, wherever you might be, I'm sorry. I had been a very selfish host, only thinking about my own good when my friends – no – the whole world's lives are also at stake. I was weak; I was easily frightened by the injuries that your previous battles had brought upon my body._

_I was the worst.

* * *

_

Another flashback occurred to him:

"_COULD I BREACH THE CONTRACT?"_

"_W-what?"_

"_I don't want to be your host anymore. Let me out of this battle of yours,"

* * *

_

Hiro lay face down on the ground; he heard faint footsteps of someone walking towards his temporarily immobilized body.

"You're boring… Looks like I have to finish you now," the Maiden said in a sing-song voice. She held her arms up again and summoned another cloud of yellow smoke, only larger (and more destructive) this time.

"Sayonara, Sakkun."

_So this is how it ends, huh_? Hiro asked himself. He closed his eyes.

He did not even bother himself to get up and evade the attack because it's pointless. He felt the intense heat approaching him.

"Sorry, everyone."

The energized cloud finally reached its destination; the blast sent out rippling waves in the air and created a large crater on the ground.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – 2:33 p.m.**_

Hiro was sure that he was hit squarely by the Maiden's last attack. He couldn't have survived it. In fact, he was still lying down on the exact spot where the energized cloud had crashed.

He turned to see what exactly happened. He rose up his hand and saw a gaseous figure that followed the shape and color of his own arm and hand. He was in his spirit form.

Hiro quickly flew up and looked back down. He still couldn't believe how ZECT Paradise, a recreational complex that took a few years to finish (and billions of Yen in investment) crumbled to ruins in just an hour. He searched around, and found the hooded lady gesturing her arms as if sketching a big circle with the tips of her hands. The same triangular symbol found on the Aguimas' foreheads appeared on the spot where the maiden stood, slightly moving clockwise.

The ground shook. Scores of green monsters with big eyes and ears and were about the size of a crouching human crept out from the rubbles around the Maiden, crafting a defensive formation.

Several meters away from the Maiden and her minions, Hiro saw his own body squatted in what could be an aggressive stance.

Hiro called, "Valtere…"

H-Valtere* turned his head to Hiro's direction gestured the familiar thumbs-up. "Hey boy! Sorry… I took over without permission!"

He smiled. Truth is, he felt relieved to know that Valtere didn't leave him for good. He was his last ray of hope, and the only companion he has left.

"Now wait there while I pulverize this... AAARRGH!"

H-Valtere felt a sudden jolt of electricity inside him. Valtere's spirit was thrust out forcefully from Hiro's body, while Hiro's spirit was sucked back in. The Maiden. meanwhile, wasn't doing anything; she merely watched in awe as if she was enjoying the view.

"What happened?" Hiro asked, now back in his body.

"Your body rejected me," answered Valtere, now a handsome ghost with long, silver hair and wearing a black coat adorned with chains, "you broke the contract, remember?"

"Is there any way to reinforce it?"

"We should do the contract again."

"Then start it already! We have no time!"

"Once you accept me again, you understand that we have to fight together indefinitely."

"I know that!"

"Do you accept the – "

"Yes, yes and yes! Now, let the binding begin!" Hiro answered hurriedly.

"Oi! That's my line!" Valtere barked.

The inscriptions around Hiro's waist, which gradually faded since yesterday, returned to its usual glow – no, Hiro thought it looked even brighter as it finally materialized into an ancient belt with an empty circular slot at the center. Valtere turned into a ball of purple gas and entered through the belt's slot. A thick layer of purple aura engulfed Hiro's body, sending out ripples in the air.

The outburst subsided several seconds later, revealing a much livelier H-Valtere, while Hiro's spirit slowly moved away to witness the usual transformation sequence.

"Take care," Hiro reminded about his body.

"Of course kiddo! I made a promise, remember?" H-Valtere smiled.

Valtere scrunched both his fists and started, "HEN…SHIN!"

The same circular emblem that was engraved in H-Valtere's belt appeared on the ground where he was standing: a large circular strip filled with strange writings with triangular spikes around its circumference and was moving clockwise; a smaller version of the former, inscribed on the larger one but was rotating counterclockwise; and a stationary inner cross formed by four arrows that pointed to the four cardinal directions. Purple flames crept out of the circle until it covered all of H-Valtere's body.

A fast "**swish" **quenched the flame, revealing the Illusori's masked form – a black-suited warrior padded with layers of purple plates. His breastplate resembles a bat's wing while his helmet proudly carried a crown that looked like a scorpion's sting.

Valtere, now fully armored, gave a slick pose, "Now, shall we get this over with?"

The Maiden answered with a smile, "I'm more than ready." With a commanding hand, she sent forth the Ympe Aguimas to engage Valtere.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise - 2:40 p.m.**_

Hiro watched the battle from a relatively safe corner. He could still vividly remember Valtere's first battle with these creatures back on the night when it all started. It was too dark before; the Ympes were coming from all directions, but thankfully Valtere was agile enough to dodge most of them. A few still got through him though, leaving multiple bruises and wounds in Hiro's body.

_This time it's different_, Hiro thought. The fight was happening in broad daylight; Valtere's swift reflexes would definitely give him the advantage. And he was not mistaken – the Illusori just danced along with the Ympes.

Valtere swiveled the emblem on his belt, similar to rotating a security vault's dial. A strange female voice from the belt said "**Ecrand**," and a javelin appeared out of the belt. Valtere seized the weapon and stroke it around, sending away the Ympes near him.

He did not waste any moment. Valtere leapt and started to obliterate the Ympes by hitting on the triangular mark on their foreheads. Those who were dealt by the fatal blow immediately ruptured into blue flames. The Maiden summoned another company of Ympes, this time much more in number. Valtere rushed for another round of melee fight, killing off more Aguimas in the process.

An Ympe jumped and grabbed Valtere from the back, while two others grabbed his foot.

"These really are an annoying lot!" commented Valtere. He rotated his belt again until a female voice spoke: "**Razu**."

Valtere's Soul Circle* appeared as he started to turn round the spot, gaining more and more momentum each revolution until he was as fast as a spinning top.

He shouted, **"TWISTED LANCE!"**

The Ympes who grabbed Valtere lost their grip on the masked warrior and blasted away. Still spinning rapidly, Valtere advanced to the Maiden while destroying the Ympes that guarded her.

"Not so fast, Valtere-kun," the Maiden pronounced. She raised her hand, and a blue, flying monster with a head resembling a crocodile and with bladed wings appeared in the sky. It launched a black energy ball from its mouth that hit Valtere, disturbing his momentum until he was forced to stop spinning.

"Damn, that crocobirdie again!"

The Wivere Aguima flew down and hurtled towards Valtere. The Illusori stepped back and ran away to avoid collision. The Maiden raised her hand forward; the Wivere acknowledged the command and scampered off, breathing more energy balls to impede Valtere.

"Look out!" Hiro cried as one energy ball hit the wall of a restaurant, the debris almost falling straight down to Valtere.

The masked warrior, still clutching the javelin in his hands, made a sudden backward maneuver, dodging the Wivere's last energy ball attack. The flying monster flapped its wings violently to make a forceful stop, and turned its head around to see Valtere returning to the Grave Maiden.

"To defeat the minions easily you should defeat first the master!" Valtere yelled.

The Maiden, who was caught off-guard with this sudden move, immediately conjured a big, yellow energy ball and sent it off to the scurrying Illusori.

Valtere coolly muttered, "I take that back."

The female voice in the belt said, "**Muire**" and Valtere soared high in the air. The energized cloud that the Maiden had launched was received by her own pet Wivere.

"Hey, nice hit, milady!" Valtere mocked, as he flipped 360 degrees in the air and threw his javelin to the wobbly Aguima's glowing forehead. The masked warrior shouted, "**FIERCE LANCE!**" and landed a flying kick on the javelin, which in turn buried itself deep into the monster's head, vanquishing it for good.

"Now, for the finale," Valtere spoke and turned to the Maiden whose shadowy face looked impressed and distressed at the same time.

"Very well. Come over here… if… you… can," the Grave Maiden answered back with a grin.

Valtere charged towards the Maiden, shielding himself from the sporadic energized cloud attacks with his lance. Hiro, who was still watching the battle from afar, felt uneasy when he thought that the Maiden was making no effort to seriously hit Valtere. Have she lost enough stamina already, or did she willingly want to be defeated?

At last, Valtere reached the hooded woman. The Maiden stopped attacking and put her hand on her side. With one swift move, the Illusori stabbed her with the javelin, piercing her stomach until the lance extended beyond her back.

The maiden whispered, "Well done, Valtere-kun."

Valtere replied, also in a low voice, "Didn't I tell you I'm against this?"

"But it turned out well, didn't it? You got Sakaguchi-kun back. Anyway, you seem to have played along very well," she answered.

"I've got no choice, do I? I don't want him to doubt me."

The Maiden chortled, "But I can't believe that you'd finish me off, a _woman_, in a very irrespective manner."

"I wouldn't kill you like this if it is really _'you'_ that I'm fighting,"

"Eh? Just how did you know that I was only using a Faux Body?"

"Simple," Valtere responded, "the real you doesn't wear a purple cowl."

Valtere pulled his weapon out of the Maiden. Blue flames surfaced out from the stab wound until it swallowed up all of her body. A few seconds after, she exploded in the same manner as how the Aguimas die.

After the battle, Hiro sashayed toward H-Valtere, who just de-henshined by pulling out the cross on the Soul Binder belt.

"It's done, boy!" H-Valtere gestured another thumbs-up.

"Yeah…" Hiro agreed, "But it kinda feels… awkward."

"What do you mean?" H-Valtere asked. He closed his eyes and his soul was siphoned out through the Soul Binder. Meanwhile, Hiro's soul was sucked back in.

"Well…" Hiro continued speaking afterward, "I thought that she let herself be stabbed on purpose."

Valtere hesitated for a moment. _So he noticed that?_ He said to himself.

"I don't know… just my weird imagination, I think," Hiro answered his own inquiry.

"Might have been." Valtere nodded fast.

* * *

_A few minutes of silence. Valtere suddenly heard sobs, and realized that Hiro was crying. The teenage boy just remembered Keisuke, Anna, Yui (though he wasn't sure if Yui also died) and all other innocent casualties._

_"I'm sorry for your loss," Valtere said._

_Hiro did not respond. He continued to cry, at least to release the pain that had built up in his heart and mind._

_And then…_

* * *

**Saturday - ZECT Paradise (Agito Restaurant) – 12:59 p.m.**

"Ah! That was exhausting!" Keisuke remarked.

"Here are your orders! _Insalata Della Casa_, _Bruschetta Ala Romana_, _Linguine Pomodoro_, _Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Cannelloni_," announced the waiter, who then served their food on the table.

"They sure have weird names for such simple dishes," Anna sneered.

"Alright then! Itadakimasu!" shouted Keisuke.

"You seem deeply in thought, Hiro. Anything wrong?" Yui asked Hiro, who was unusually quiet, staring at the window like he was daydreaming.

"No, nothing." Hiro answered unconsciously.

"But there are tears in your eyes…" Yui muttered.

It took a while before Hiro's mind perceived who said those words and where he was at the moment. He rubbed his eyes, and saw Yui, Anna and Keisuke staring back at him.

"What's wrong, Sakaguchi-dono?"

"You guys…" Hiro cried in joy and initiated a group hug, "You're alive!"

"Of course we are," Anna made a snide comment.

"What happened?" asked Yui again.

"Oh… nothing. I really am just happy today," answered Hiro, grinning.

Keisuke noticed Anna writing something on her notebook, "Oi, what's that?" He grabbed it (Anna: Give it back, baka!) and read, "_Ten signs that Sakaguchi Hiro is going Nuts!_ Why you, charcoal lady!"

Anna seized the notebook, "Don't read it, Sakaguchi-kun Fanboy!"

Yui laughed, and so did Hiro.

* * *

_Yes, I might look like I'm going crazy, but what do I care? I don't know if it was just a dream or I turned back in time_. _One thing is for sure, though – my friends are here with me now: Yui, Keisuke, Anna, and…_

Hiro felt his hand around his waist. It was comfortably warm.

_… Valtere._

**(To be continued)

* * *

**

Next time: Valtere and the Grave Maiden are comrades? What is a Faux Body?

Stay tuned for** Episode 6: Lost in the Terror Train! The Kamen Rider's Debut!

* * *

**

(**SHT Announcer:** There will be no Super Hero Time, yet again, because the producers ran out of budget creating the massive scenes for this episode. Yes, the producers actually rented a REAL amusement park, and set detonators all around it. The horrified park owner charged the producers a lifetime worth of the park's annual income. :P)

* Notes: To avoid confusion, the name H-Valtere will be used in scenes where Hiro's normal body (except when he transforms into a Kamen Rider) is controlled by Valtere. Also, from this chapter forward, Valtere's circular emblem shall be known as his Soul Circle.

That's it, Episode 5, done! The longest chapter so far. As you guys may have noticed, this practically wrapped up the first arc of the series, which focused on the introduction of the main characters. On the next episode, new characters will appear, and the focus of the story will divert a bit. I genuinely want to hear your comments on how the first five chapters (both story-wise and construction-wise) had been. Till then, see ya!


	6. Episode 6: Lost in the Terror Train!

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Kamen Rider franchise but I do own Valtere and the whole fic. This story is set in a fictional Japan, meaning all places and characters stated herein don't exist in real life._

_This story is best viewed in ½ page mode._

* * *

_**Saturday – Underground Library – 12:59 p.m.**_

Somewhere in Sonoda City, there was an underground dungeon. It didn't hold any prisoner, but it housed some of the most ancient books in history. No one, not even the eldest of the elderly people in the city, knew about its existence… except these two.

One was a high school teacher who looked significantly older than his true age. His head showed signs of balding and he wore eyeglasses which lenses were about a quarter of an inch thick. The other one was a mysterious person who loved to wear a cowl. One look at her soft, pale hands would reveal that she was a woman in her late 20s.

"The spell has been cast. Sakaguchi-kun should have experienced the illusion now," the woman said.

"But…was it successful?" asked the old man, named Sugita Takanori.

The Grave Maiden stared at the parchment lying on the table in front of her. Two conditions would determine the spell' s outcome: if the parchment burned up until the perimeter of the circumscribing circle only, then Hiro had decided to renew the contract; if it crumbled totally into ashes, then he had done otherwise.

The small flames continued to crawl away from the center until it finally stopped at the outer circle's edges. The Maiden felt a sudden jolt flow inside her body as the smoke produced by the burnt paper entered her temple.

She flashed a hearty smile, "Yes. Valtere's won him back."

* * *

_**Monday – Tennotsukai Academy – 7:50 a.m. **_

The ambience inside Class 3-A was much livelier today than usual. A very interesting buzz was going around the campus…

_ "I told you, he's a SUPERHERO!"_

_ "Baka! You've just watched too many Sentai stuff! I'm pretty sure he's just some weird biker with a terrible sense of style…"_

_ "How will you then explain the bike that went 'POOF!' from the ground? From the ground!"_

_ "I saw that! He swung his hand like 'piropiro' and there goes the bike like 'chokochoko'!"_

_ "Do you think he's the same as the school's bike-riding ghost?"_

_ "Ah! So the ghost biker can stroll around the city now! Not a chance."_

Sitting on a far corner of the room, beside the windows, were the members of Angel's VOICE newspaper club: Suzuki Yui, the Editor-in-Chief; Kagami Keisuke, the photographer; and Kanzaki Anna and Sakaguchi Hiro, the writers. Behind Hiro stood another companion that only he himself could see – a ghost named Valtere. They were talking about the same rumor.

"The local newspapers call him 'Kamen Rider' now," informed Keisuke, while playing with his DSLR in hand.

"Kamen Rider? What kind of name is that?" said Anna. Hiro threw a sideways glance at his ghost friend, Valtere, who approved, "I think it's a cool name." Of course, it was only him who heard Valtere's answer.

"Kamen Rider, eh?" Yui sighed, as she gazed dreamily onto the windows again. Anna immediately knew that it wasn't a very good sign.

"I think she's attracted with that Rider-san," she shrugged, "The last time I saw her like that was in junior high, with our teacher Sato-sensei."

"Eh? Don't tell me Suzuki-chan's in love with him?" asked Keisuke.

It took a while before Hiro and Valtere grasped the thought. Yui, Hiro's secret crush, is attracted to Kamen Rider – him; no, technically it was Valtere using his body…

"EHHHH!" Hiro and Valtere shouted in surprise.

* * *

**Episode 6: Lost in the Terror Train! Kamen Rider's Debut!**

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* * *

**

_How did everyone in the city know about the existence of Valtere, the 'Kamen Rider' as they call him? What made Yui so fascinated about him? Let us go back into ZECT Paradise to see how it all happened:_

_**Saturday – ZECT Paradise (Agito Restaurant) – 1:11 p.m.**_

Hiro, Yui, Anna, and Keisuke were busy munching their 'Insala-something' (as Anna calls it) when Yui suddenly came up with an idea. "Hey, let's take a group picture!"

"Great, I have the camer –" offered Keisuke, but Yui interrupted him.

"No, not your camera. Let's do it in a studio," Yui pointed outside the window, to a place called Hikari Photo Studio, "What do you think, Anna?"

"Not bad, let's go after we e –"

"WAAAAAAH!" Keisuke shrieked.

Hiro and the others backed away in surprise, "What is it?"

"I lost my wallet! Oh, how am I gonna pay for these…"

A tall man wearing a chef's outfit approached them, "Don't worry, Kei-kun. The president already paid for those."

Keisuke turned and looked at the man. He was fair-skinned, with brown-dyed, shoulder-length hair and whose face always seemed to flash a ready smile.

"Tsugami-san!" Keisuke's eyes widened. The chef smiled again. "Long time no see, Kei-kun."

"Yeah, it's been a long time! But, why are you here? I thought you're on the main branch… Oh, by the way, here are my friends, Sakaguchi Hiro, Suzuki Yui, and Kanzaki Anna. Minna, this is Tsugami Shouichi-san, the owner of the restaurant." The three gave a bow of respect to the chef at the mention of their names.

"Nice meeting you guys," Tsugami said before turning to Keisuke, "I have to look over the opening of this branch, that's why I'm here, Kei-kun. Anyway, are you guys enjoying your meal?"

"It's the best!" Yui answered eagerly.

"One girl here hates the foods' complicated names, though," remarked Hiro. Anna, whose face turned red, immediately turned away from Tsugami-san's sight.

Tsugami laughed, "They're tomato-based, Italian-inspired dishes, that's why they have such names. Oh well, I have to go back inside now; nice meeting you again."

"Arigato, Tsugami-san!" the four teenagers said. The chef gave another big smile before he returned into the kitchen area.

"Ah… that feels relieving…" Keisuke sighed.

"It really is convenient to have a rich father, ne?" scoffed Anna.

"WHY YOU?" growled Keisuke. The cat-and-dog fight between him and Anna ensued as they continued to finish their meal, not noticing the shady man who had been staring at them since they entered the restaurant.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – Hikari Photo Studio – 1:30 p.m.**_

After a scrumptious meal at the Agito, the group went to an establishment called the Hikari Photo Studio. The place was rather old-fashioned, complete with a 19th century camera and a pull-down backdrop. To new visitors, it might look more like a coffee shop than an actual studio.

Inside, they were greeted by an old man whose white hair was kept in place by a blue bonnet. He wore oval spectacles, and his cream-colored vest perfectly blended with the studio's antique motif.

"Ah, customers! Come in, please," the old man invited them in, "Would you like a cup of tea or coffee first, while I set the camera up?"

Yui was about to say "No, thanks" when Anna answered, "Yes, please do."

"There goes the girl who can't resist coffee…" Keisuke sneered. The old man laughed, "Very well, I'll make the best coffee for this young lady over here (Keisuke teased Anna: Go, young lady!). I'm sorry that you have to bear with an ojii-san like me; my granddaughter, who used to help me here, went outside to take pictures around the park with her boyfriend."

"Please don't worry about that," Hiro answered.

"Ojii-san, by any chance, are they using a Blackbird twin-lens reflex camera?" Keisuke asked.

"Why yes! Have you seen them around?" the old man asked them.

"I bumped into them at the inauguration program."

"I see… I hope Tsukasa – the guy who's with my granddaughter – didn't bother you much. He could be a bit conceited, but he really is a good boy. Well, I have to go prepare now."

"Please take your time." Yui bowed.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – 2:20 p.m.**_

After almost an hour inside the Hikari Photo Studio, the group finally went out and started to walk around the park again.

"Ah, that was fun!" said Keisuke, "Old cameras really are the best!"

"But we have to wait for an hour before we get the picture…" replied Yui, "Why don't we try other rides? Let's see… how about the Ghost Train?"

"The… Ghost Train?" there was uncertainty in Hiro's voice. Yui jeered, "Don't tell me… you're afraid of ghosts?"

"Of course not…" answered Hiro. A flashback occurred in his mind:

* * *

_"The… Bike-riding Ghost?"_

_"Yeah! Wait… don't tell me… you're afraid of ghosts?"_

_Hiro snapped, "Of course not Yui-chan! I don't believe in ghosts! Tell me the story then."_

* * *

'_You already asked me that before, Yui-chan_,' Hiro said to himself. '_You just don't remember because the Grave Maiden_... _Come to think of it, why did the Grave Maiden erase Yui's memory? She could've just killed her back then. And, why did everything return to normal after Valtere defeated her_?'

Hiro held his hands on his waist, blindly trying to reach out to the spirit residing inside the Soul Binder belt, when he heard a voice, "_There are a lot of things in this world that cannot be explained, kiddo_."

"WOAH! YOU HEARD ME?" Hiro shouted in response.

"I heard you what?" asked Yui, who was startled with Hiro's sudden reaction. Keisuke found Anna taking out her notes on _Ten Signs that Sakaguchi Hiro has Gone Nuts_ again.

"Uh… nothing, don't mind me," replied Hiro. He heard Valtere chuckle from inside his head.

_"You don't need to shout out your voice, boy. Just hold the binder firmly and we can talk like this anytime,"_ said Valtere.

'_But… it didn't work before_,' Hiro recalled the first day of their bind. He placed his hand on the belt-like tattoo around his waist and tried to reach out to the Illusori, but the latter didn't reply.

_"I was too exhausted back then. Spirits need to recover their energy, y'know. Furthermore, our bind is stronger now than before, thanks to your trust."_

_"You might wanna be careful, though,"_ Valtere continued, _"Someone's following us."_

'_W-what?_' Hiro mind-said, while their group walked towards the Ghost Train.

_"There's someone, I don't know if he's human but he has an aura similar to the Aguimas. He's been following your group since you went into that restaurant."_

'_Is this someone in league with that Maiden?' _asked Hiro. Valtere answered with conviction, _"No, he couldn't be."_

'_Where is he, then?'_

_"I can't be so sure, kid. I can only sense the aura, but I can't pinpoint where it comes from. Most possibly, he's behind us."_

Hiro turned around, finding lots of people behind them, '_I… guess you're right. It's hard to take the odd man out of this lot._' He returned to face Yui and others as he spoke telepathically again. '_What do we do now?_'

_"Well, we can't do anything but wait for him to do the first move."_

* * *

A few meters away from Hiro, a man with long hair, unkempt beard and a very intimidating look was talking on his mobile phone. He wore a rugged vest, leather pants and boots. "Yes, I know that – the girl in the picture, right? Don't worry; I'm just finding the right time. One of her friends seemed to notice me…"

There were mumbles from the phone before the man spoke again, "I know, I know! I'll definitely bring the girl, even if I have to kill the spare."

The man ended the call and placed the phone inside his vest, just as he took out a picture of a girl in front of the soba restaurant. It was a candid shot of Suzuki Yui.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – Ghost Train – 2:35 p.m.**_

The Ghost Train was one of ZECT's Paradise's most detailed attractions. Similar to its brother, the "time-travelling" Den-Liner, the Ghost Train offered a slow railcar trip filled with holographic illusions of the scariest things imaginable. The recorded voice on the train platform welcomed them, "Enjoy your trip… to the netherworld!"

"Wow… this looks exciting!" exclaimed Anna, who immediately took a seat in the carriage.

"Oi, wait for us, horror girl!" shouted Keisuke, who just entered. Hiro and Yui followed after him, scratching their heads. Valtere's voice echoed again inside Hiro's head _"I feel him. He's inside the train too."_

'_What?'_ he turned left and right, looking for someone he didn't even know in the first place, when his head bumped onto the abdomen of a rugged man who was walking across the carriage. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Sumimasen," Hiro bowed down and apologized. He didn't catch the guy's suspicious, almost maniacal glance at Yui, before taking his own seat inside the Ghost Train.

* * *

A cool female voice signaled the start of the ride, "Hello, and welcome to the ZECT Railway System. This train is inbound…"

The voice message went on, until it became distorted. The lights inside the train flickered violently, while indiscernible, low-pitched murmurs reverberated throughout the train carriages.

When the train arrived at a dark, foggy tunnel, the lights completely went off. Some high school girls on one side began to freak out, while Yui grabbed Hiro arm. He blushed, "Yui-chan! You're not afraid of ghosts, aren't you?"

"These made-up thrillers are scarier than the real thing…" answered Yui, her hands shaking.

The temperature inside the train dropped down, while the low murmurs turned into heavy panting. Keisuke looked over the windows, "Now, what's ne – WAAAAAAAH!"

He stumbled from his seat and screamed, "Sa…. SADAKO!" There was, right from his very window, an image of a woman with extremely long, chaotic hair in front of her face. From another side of the railcar came another batch of screamfest. A holographic image of a pale, half-naked young boy with black eyeballs suddenly appeared before them. Keisuke shrieked, "THE GRUDGE!"

But the fright show is far from over. The train shook, left and right as if someone was pushing and pulling it from outside. More holographic versions of contemporary Japanese horror icons appeared, thankfully no one died of heart attack.

The rugged man, who was sitting calmly in front of Hiro's group, muttered, "Perfect timing." A weird symbol appeared on the man's forehead, and there was a flash… a blinding flash.

* * *

_**Ghost Train – 2:48 p.m.**_

Valtere immediately knew what that sudden burst of light meant. His Illusori instincts never failed him, not even once. _"It's the Aguima!"_

'WHAT?' Hiro shouted, but it doesn't give any more unnecessary attention because of the other screaming people in the Ghost Train.

The light eventually died out. The train became much darker than before, but Hiro could still poorly trace the dark outline of a large creature standing in front of them. It suddenly moved forward, receiving loud screams from the high school girls who thought that this was still part of the thrill, and stomped away, forcing himself outside by banging the railcar's doors. "It… went away?" said Hiro in confusion.

"_I'll follow him_," said Valtere, coming out of the belt tattoo as a ghostly entity and gliding through the path taken by the Aguima. He observed that out of all the people inside the train, it was only him who could see Valtere's spirit, which is, of course, just normal.

'_The Aguima fled just like that? Something doesn't feel right here,_' he thought. Hiro lifted his arm, and noticed that the girl that should have been holding it firmly was gone.

"Yui?"He stretched his hands out in the dark, like a blind man trying to make something out of his surroundings, until it landed onto another girl's shoulder. "AHHHH! Pervert!"

"Anna! Sorry, I didn't mean it. But have you seen Yui-chan?" Hiro asked loudly.

"I don't know… wait a minute, so you meant to touch Suzuki –?"

"NO! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Hiro retorted. He came up with a realization, _'could it be that…. the Aguima took Yui?'_

_**(To be continued)**_

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_Next time: The exciting, life-changing events at ZECT Paradise continue! A new enemy and a new ally appear! Valtere's first public transformation also comes up!_

_Stay tuned for_ **Episode 7: Ghost Biker vs. Horseman! The Kamen Rider's Debut Part 2!  
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_A/N: That's it! Episode 6, done. It was the first of a two-part episode that will serve as the transition between the first arc (Introductions) and the next arc. Thanks to the people who have commented, added this story in their story alerts, or marked it as a favorite so far. You really inspired me to go further with this. Oh, and I've just decided to put the Super Hero Time segment on hiatus, because the main story itself is getting much comedic scenes already (but what's a Kamen Rider story without these random babbles, right?)_


	7. Episode 7: Ghost Biker vs Horseman!

_I do not own any trademarked names appearing in this fic, especially the Kamen Rider franchise. All names of people and places mentioned herein are entirely fictional._

* * *

_**Saturday – Sonoda Main Road – 2:50 p.m.**_

Driving along the busy highway of Sonoda's business district that particular afternoon was a white, Subaru Legacy sedan. There were two people… no, three (although the third one wasn't a human) inside: the driver, a young man who exuded a great deal of boyish charm that often misled people about his true age; a woman sitting on the front seat, whose voluptuous, busty body contrasts the driver's wholesome image; and a yellow, hairy, rubber ball-looking creature hanging like a décor in the windshield.

"Alright… good job. We'll be there in a few minutes," the woman said on the phone before finishing the call and putting it back inside her shoulder bag.

The young guy spoke, "That's Tomoi-san, was it?"

"Yes," answered the woman, in a seemingly seductive voice, "He's got the girl."

"As expected," replied the driver, his eyes focused on the road, "However, wouldn't it be difficult for him to take her out of there, considering the heavy security? I mean… what if he uses his power and transform in front of people?"

The woman played with the hanging, furry creature using her fingers before giving her reply, "We'd be revealing ourselves sooner or later, anyway…"

* * *

_**At the same time – Underground Library**_

The Grave Maiden was browsing through her vast collection of archaic books when she felt a sudden shiver along her spine. She felt it – the very faint ripple of aura that only she could sense and perceive – the presence of a Pseudo-Aguima. She immediately called her most loyal servant, "Esquirra! Esquirra!"

Sugita rushed to the dungeon as soon as he heard the beckoning, "You called for me, Milady?"

The Maiden panted, her lips showing signs of trembling, "It's them. They've made their move."

The old man's eyes widened, "You surely don't mean…"

* * *

_**At the same time – ZECT Paradise**_

"Aaaargh!" the long-haired man, who wore rugged clothes, scratched his head briskly. "Now, how am I gonna get you out of here huh?"

He was talking one-sidedly to an unconscious, teenage girl lying down in front of him; her hands and feet were tied in pairs. Uneasily, the man moved back and forth along that dark, hard-to-notice part of the Ghost Train's railway, thinking of how Yui could be taken out of the amusement park without anyone noticing.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" came a loud voice. The hardy man stopped walking, and turned around to see the silhouette of a slender man walking towards him.

Mistaking the approaching man as part of the police, Tomoi gave out an intense flash of light from within him. When it receded, he was no longer the long-haired human who wore rugged clothes: he had a head like that of a bull, with an apelike torso joined at the waist to the withers of a horse-like lower body. At the center of his hirsute chest was a glowing symbol of three circles interlinked with each other.*

He transformed because he thought it would scare the man away; to Tomoi's surprise, though, he did not even see the latter trip up. The man even sniggered, "As I thought… you're a Pseudo."

Tomoi was aghast, "H-how did you…?"

H-Valtere scratched his cheeks and answered coldly, "Shouldn't you worry first about your life before thinking about that?"

He waved his hand; glimmering inscriptions came out of his fingers which settled around his waist, materializing into a belt. H-Valtere cried, "**HEN… SHIN!**"

* * *

**Episode 7: Ghost Biker vs. Horseman! The Kamen Rider's Debut Part 2!**

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* * *

**

A glowing wheel appeared on the ground; purple flames crept out until it covered H-Valtere's body. A fast "swish" from his cape extinguished the flame, revealing Valtere's armored form. Like a startled horse, the Khentor Aguima**staggered, "Omae wa…!"

Meanwhile, a white, translucent ghost came out from behind Valtere. The Illusori spoke, "You stay here while I finish this guy."

Hiro's spirit answered, "Okay."

The Aguima drew a step away as Valtere walked slowly towards him, "Who are you? How did you know I'm here?"

"After you snatched her and destroyed the railcar, no one outside saw anyone, let alone a horsey like you, leave the place with a girl in hand. Moreover, that stench you Aguimas give off… never left this place," Valtere answered mockingly.

"Now," he continued, "you answer my question this time. What do want from the girl?"

"What do I know? I was only paid for this," the monster replied.

"Really, huh? Then… prepare to pay your life to me!" Valtere ran to the Aguima hurriedly; the latter clutched Valtere's approaching fists with its furry hands and lifted its forelegs to kick the masked warrior. The hooves stomped Valtere straight on his abdomen, knocking him over. The Aguima then seized Yui's cataleptic body and sped out of the Ghost Train's railway.`

"Valtere!" shouted Hiro, "He's running away!"

The Illusori quickly got up, "I know!"

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – 3:01 p.m.**_

Just right outside the Ghost Train's exit were Keisuke, Anna, and mobs of people: most of whom were enraged about the sudden closure of the Ghost Train to the public, while others were either ZECT security personnel or just mere gossipers.

"Where did Saka-dono go?" Keisuke asked Anna, who still managed to buy herself an order of Milk Dipper's coffee-flavored ice cream considering that two of her friends had gone missing.

"I dunnow…mmm," Anna took another nip, "Isn't he with you?"

"Yeah, but I had to call tochan to tell what exactly happened and that next thing I knew, he's also gone! Oh what are we gonna do now, Kanzaki-chan?"

"Stop… shaking… ME!" Anna shouted, but it was too late. Keisuke had waggled her so hard that she dropped her cup to the ground. The world seemed to have stopped spinning as they both gazed on the spilled ice cream. "My… precious… ice…"

Anna was still mourning over her melted dessert when deafening screams were heard all over the place. From the dark, tunneled railway of the Ghost Train a strange creature appeared, dashing past the flabbergasted crowd like a racing horse, while baby-carrying an unconscious girl. It wasn't a smooth escape – there were too many people around the vicinity that some of them were trampled over by the scurrying creature as it ran through them.

A few seconds later, another odd creature emerged from the tunnel. Unlike the previous one who was animal-like, its appearance was much closer to a human. In fact, it merely looked like an average human male wearing a weird, purple, bat-inspired armor and a helmet inspired by a scorpion. This armored creature also ran past the terrified crowd, but was much more careful not to trip up or collide with anyone.

"Damn! This horsey's too fast!" exclaimed Valtere, as the distance between him and the Khentor Aguima continue to widen.

"And he's caused too much ruckus…" Hiro, still in ghost form and striding along with Valtere, was much more concerned on the poor, innocent people who were stomped by the monster.

* * *

_**ZECT Paradise – Gate One – 3:07 p.m.**_

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Tomoi-san, the Khentor Aguima yelled, still holding Yui in his arms. The newly arrived park visitors shunned away in shock, while the others thought that it was part of ZECT Paradise's surprise attractions. Several ZECT Security Personnel barricaded the exit in a desperate effort to hinder the unknown creature and retrieve his hostage, but to no avail; the Aguima merely leapt over the guards without any difficulty.

"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE MA SIGHT!" it was Valtere who shouted this time, also running in the path treaded by the Aguima. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"Regroup, team!" shouted the ZECT Security Chief. The guards reinforced their human barricade, making it closer together. Some spectators (especially kids) were enjoying the view, mistakenly thinking that it was a part of a filming for an upcoming tokusatsu movie.

"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

Valtere twisted the rotating dials in the Soul Binder until a female voice came out, "**Muire**," and small glowing circles appeared under each of his foot. He jumped – higher than the tallest guard among the guys at the barricade, even higher than the towering walls – and landed outside the park's premises without any difficulty.

The astounded Security Chief couldn't do anything but let his jaw drop.

* * *

_**Kusaka Avenue (outside ZECT Paradise) – 3:09 p.m.**_

The enduring commotion reached the streets of Sonoda City. A few cars skidded out of the lane when the drivers saw a horse-like creature dash out of the newly opened ZECT Paradise. Even more cars rolled and careened off the island when a masked, costumed man hurdled from the park's high walls.

"This isn't turning out good, Valtere…" Hiro's ghost said worriedly, slipping through the gate and looking at the pile of damaged cars behind them.

"Never mind that, boy. Hopefully, we're inside the Maiden's territory; everything should go back to normal after this," responded Valtere, who stopped for a moment but his sight was still fixed at the Aguima which was very much farther away from them now.

"Maiden? You mean the Grave Maiden?"

Valtere, caught off-guard, replied promptly, "Did I say Maiden? That was MADE UP! MADE UP!"

"But you also said 'Maiden's Territory' when we fought the flying monster at the rooftop…"

"I told you, that's MADE UP! I just… have a bad habit of mixing names," said Valtere defensively, "Just never mind about unimportant things. We have to rescue your girl, remember?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" retorted Hiro.

"Well, whatever," Valtere said, swinging the dials on his belt once again. Hiro asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just watch."

The dials interlocked with each other and the usual female voice spoke: "**Grim Raider: Gating…**"

"Woah! That's in English!" Hiro exclaimed. Valtere nodded matter-of-factly.

The masked warrior swung his hands open wide and the Soul Circle came out of the ground in front of him. Something emerged from this very circle that made Hiro totally freak out: a black and purple motorcycle, adorned with chains, with the windshield patterned to a dinosaur's head and the hugger patterned to a dinosaur's tail. Apparently, it was not only Hiro who was bowled over: the immense crowd that started to build up around the gates of ZECT Paradise dropped their jaws at the unexplainable sight.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Hiro still can't believe his ghostly eyes.

"Get on, kid!" Valtere ordered as he hopped on the bike.

"How? I'm technically a gh –"

"This bike travels on the middle plane – I've got no time to explain, just get on!"

Hiro followed reluctantly, sitting on the space behind Valtere. As soon as he took his seat, he felt something weird; yes, he still looked gaseous, but he felt as if he had a normal, tangible body.

"Let's roll," Valtere said, starting the motorcycle's engine.

* * *

_**Kusaka Avenue, corner Sonoda Main Road – 3:14 p.m.**_

The Khentor Aguima continued running along the westbound lane of Kusaka Avenue, in an effort to lose the armored warrior that was pursuing him; however; he created too much attention in the streets (cars circled around at the sight of the fearsome creature, barely avoiding to crash into the monster or into each other) that the Sonoda City police officers had started chasing him too.

"Damn! This isn't part of the deal!" cried the Aguima. He turned left and meandered through the Main Road, missing collisions with the pursuit vehicles at every swerve.

Meanwhile, a punk-style motorcycle hustled along Kusaka Avenue. Much like the Khentor, it veered through the increasing pile of rammed cars like a speeding bullet. When it reached the intersection, Valtere turned a sharp left.

"How did you know he went left?" Hiro asked, sitting behind him.

"You'd know by the sound of the sirens!" answered Valtere.

True enough, with less than a hundred meters away from their target; they saw four police cars trailing the Khentor Aguima. Valtere pressed a button near the bike's right grip, revealing a rotating emblem (similar to the Soul Binder's dials) on the place where the gas input should have been. Valtere pressed another button; the knobs twisted on their own until a male, mechanical voice spoke: "**Raider: X-Trigger**."

The emblem lifted away from the motorcycle's body, disassembling and then reassembling into a weapon similar to a crossbow, and then affixed itself back into the bike.

"Cool," Hiro remarked approvingly.

Valtere pressed another button and bellowed, "**GRIM BREATHER!**"

The crossbow fired a rain of arrows which ignited in mid-air, piercing the mobile patrols' hind tires. One police car half-collided with the other, another car side-swiped with a Kikuchi Cleaners' delivery van, while the last one crashed into the garbage bin of a nearby establishment.

"That's the police! What did you do that for?" asked a panicking Hiro.

"It's not convenient if we let them catch him before we do!" Valtere defended his actions.

Another series of ignited arrows were launched, this time aimed to the Aguima. Unfortunately, he was agile enough to evade every shot (except that one arrow which nearly hit his horse-like butt, if not hampered away by his swaying tail).

The Khentor turned to see his new (old) pursuer, "You again?"

"Yo! Having fun with this horsey race?" mocked Valtere, taking advantage of the fact that it cannot fight back because of the girl clenched in the Khentor's arms.

"Oh, SHUT UP!" the latter shouted in response, as it made a sharp right turn, jumping over the center island and running towards a narrow alleyway. As he did this, a white sedan would be seen coming from the southbound lane.

The driver of the sedan quickly stepped on his brake pedal as soon as he saw the Aguima cross the Main Road, "Fujita-san, was that… Tomoi-san?"

The full-bodied woman beside the young-looking driver did not reply; her eyes were transfixed at the Aguima and the unnecessary commotion it had caused in the city. The young man soon noticed another person – a masked warrior riding on a motorbike – crossing the road and zooming into the same alleyway as where Tomoi-san entered.

"Who is… that?"

* * *

_**Monday – Tennotsukai Academy – 8:00 a.m.**_

"I really think this 'Kamen Rider' shouldn't be called a superhero. You guys have seen the ruckus he has caused, no?" opined Keisuke, while still playing with his DSLR, "What do you think, Saka-dono?"

"Umm… well…" Hiro threw another glance at Valtere, this time apprehensively, "I suppose?"

"NO!" Yui stood up and slammed her hand on her desk, taking Keisuke and Hiro aback, "He's a hero! If he's not then he wouldn't go through all that effort to save me!"

"Pictures! I've got pictures!" announced Kikuchi Rina, the class president. All students of 3-A assembled around Kikuchi, including Hiro's group.

"I've got these from my father; his van was travelling along the Main Road when the Horseman and the Kamen Rider appeared from behind him," Kikuchi said proudly.

"Hey! Here's Suzuki-san, our damsel in distress!" half-teased Ogawa Jun, pointing to the blurred picture of the Horseman.

"Oh please, shut up!" retorted Yui, half-smiling, "By the way, who's that?"

All of them stared at Yui, who was pointing her index finger at the picture of the masked man riding in a motorcycle, "What?"

"That's the Kamen Rider, Suzuki-chan, remember?" said Keisuke.

Yui shook her head, "No… he couldn't be! The one who saved me was not him! He was glowing red, with white, skeletal armor, and there were two horns on his skulled helm! He's way different than this guy over here!"

The truth suddenly dawned into Hiro: it wasn't Valtere, the Kamen Rider, whom Yui was attracted to. It was a totally different person… someone they knew very well.

_**(To be continued)**_

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_Next time: What is a Pseudo-Aguima? Who saved Yui from Tomoi-san? The surprising conclusion of the Aguima chase will be revealed on:_

**Episode 8: Saved by the Devil? Start of a Memorable Summer!**

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_A/N: That's it! Episode 7, done! Anyway, I hope that I've delivered the chase scenes in the same intensity as I imagined it. This chapter underwent a major revision (for some reason the idea of having Valtere chase after the Aguima ala Fast and the Furious always comes up in my mind, so instead of keeping their fight inside ZECT Paradise, I lured them out to the streets of Sonoda City), which might've resulted to a minor time skip at the beginning. If there are some parts that are not clear (or do not make sense), please tell me so that I could work on them at once. Oh, and if you guys have any suggestions which could possibly improve the story more, please let me know!_

_Special thanks to the people who continue to support this fic, especially Dakegun and Ultimuus for reading and appreciating my story and the Grave Maiden ;)_

_Notes:_

_* see Borromean Rings for the visualization of this symbol._

_** New Aguima type: **Khentor** – a centaur-based kaijin. Human form: Tomoi-san (who currently is having a ridiculously bigger exposure than an average, totally random, weekly monster usually appearing in Kamen Rider shows)_

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_**Kamen Rider Valtere: Kurosu Files no. 001:**_ **SONODA CITY**

_**Sonoda City** is a metropolitan area located west of Sonoda Bay. It serves as the gateway of trade to the seven minor cities that surround its perimeter (except the part enveloped by the bay, of course). These cities, together with Sonoda City, comprise the entire Sonoda Prefecture. The city has a subtropical climate; it experiences a relatively hot and humid weather, especially now that the summer holidays are coming._

_Functionally, Sonoda city is divided into three areas: the northeastern part, which is mainly a business district (it is home to some of the leading companies in the industry such as **ZECT**, **Smart Brain**, **DIGAL Corporation/The Museum, BOARD** and the **Wonderful Aozora Group**); the southeastern part, which is a shopping and entertainment/recreational district (where ZECT Paradise is located), and the larger western area, which is mainly residential and historical (though smaller business parks also start to emerge here)._


	8. Episode 8: Saved by the Devil?

A/N: Woah! The feedbacks for Episode 7 were more than I expected! And the whole series received 400+ hits for July! Thank you very much for the support, guys. Here's Episode 8! There'll be a lot of talkies and explanations this time; I hope you're fine with that. Prepare your brains, you'll be fed with much knowledge ^^.

* * *

_**Saturday – Empty Lot – 3:30 p.m.**_

The narrow, maze-like alleyway where Tomoi, the Khentor Aguima had entered led him into a wide, unkempt, empty backyard overseeing the Sonoda Bay Freeport. The buildings that surround this lot were abandoned a long time ago because they were no longer fit for human habitation. To Tomoi, it was a perfect place to hide from that weird, armored guy that was following him.

A flash of white light, and he transformed back into his normal, human form, while still carrying an unconscious Yui on his arms. He lied her down on one side, grabbed the mobile phone resting in his denim vest, and started a call.

"Hello? Ah, yes, that's what I want to say. I, uh – what? You saw me? I, uhm… I'm in this some empty lot… how to get here? Ah, wait… from the main alley, turn right… oh no, was that left? Uhm… WILL YOU SHUT THE F* UP? I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER!"

Tomoi was still nagging on the phone when Yui finally woke up.

"W..where am I?" she looked around. Yui gasped in terror when she found herself reclined on a mossy wall, a brute man shouting in the corner of a dirty lot.

Tomoi, who had just finished his call, noticed her, "Oh! The sleeping beauty's awake!"

"Who are you?" Yui asked, trying to defy the fear that was building up inside her.

"Some worthless guy paid to kidnap you," Tomoi sat in front of Yui and smiled naughtily.

"DON'T COME NEAR ME…" The terrified girl pleaded, "SOMEBODY HELP!"

"What? I haven't done anything yet!" Tomoi replied, extending his hand to Yui's face, "I just wanted to –"

"STOP! NO!"

Just as Tomoi's palm had reached Yui's long hair, a thick fog suddenly covered the whole area. Sensing an impending danger, he quickly stood up and transformed back to his Aguima form: a horse-like figure with a hairy torso and a bull-like head. Yui couldn't believe what she had just witnessed, "W-What are… you?"

The Aguima did not bother answering her question, but instead paced around the haze-covered lot to determine the source of the mysterious smoke, "Who did this?"

A peculiar being suddenly came out of the mist: a humanoid creature, whose red exterior resembles that of carved flesh, with a white exoskeleton serving as its main armor. Its exterior skull was similar to a ram's, with a symbol similar to the Grave Maiden's emblem engraved on the cranium; while his back had wings similar to those of a dragon.

* * *

**Episode 8: Saved by the Devil? Start of a Memorable Summer!

* * *

**

Slowly moving forward amid the grayish fog, the image grew clearer and clearer until it halted beside Yui, allowing the girl to get a better look at her extraordinary savior. The horned creature turned its head; the faint glow from its eye sockets met Yui's. She didn't know why but she felt odd, gentle warmth beneath the creature's hideous looks.

"Another nuisance again, huh?" the Khentor said snidely, "Why do guys like you always appear like that?"

The horse-like monster grabbed a long, rusty pipe resting on the pile of rubbish he had accidently tripped on a few seconds ago. Half-blinded by the haze, he charged through and swung the pipe to bash the glowing red figure.

Without even backing a step (and without even looking), the Deofol* Aguima easily blocked the attack and seized the shaft with his left hand. From its clawed fingers, the devilish creature sent off sparks of high-powered electricity that travelled through the metal pole and electrocuted the Khentor, making the latter screech in unimaginable pain, "AAAAARRRRRGH!"

Its muscles inhibited by the shock, it took a while before the Khentor managed to release its grip and back off to one corner of the abandoned lot. That horrific experience did not just bring physical injuries to the horse-like Aguima; it seemed to have also damaged its psyche.

"No… don't… no…" the Khentor said, now traumatic of the Deofol's presence, "NOOOOO!"

* * *

Meanwhile, still riding on the Grim Raider (a reptile-inspired motorcycle), Valtere (in his Rider armor) and Hiro (still in ghost form) carefully drove along the converging alleyways to look for Yui and the Aguima that took her away.

"Where'dat donkey go?" Valtere asked, more addressed to himself than to the guy behind him.

Hiro noticed something to his right, "Hey isn't it too smoky there?"

Valtere turned, "It certainly is."

"Shall we try looking?" Hiro followed up.

Valtere hesitated for a moment. He was sure of it: he sensed another Aguima, two more to be exact, around the place. _Could this be a trap?_ He thought.

"Let's go," the Illusori announced. _Whatever it is, I should always be ready._ Valtere steered the bike to the right and dashed toward the thick, gray fog.

* * *

_**Empty Lot – 3:34 p.m.**_

"There's nothing," Hiro's spirit spoke, glancing around the hazy lot.

"We can't be so sure, kid," Valtere replied, getting off his bike. _They're hiding somewhere_, he said to himself.

They heard soft rustling from behind; Valtere turned his head just in time to see the silhouette of a large creature charging toward him.

"DIE!" the Khentor Aguima yelled. Instinctively, Valtere ducked to avoid being stomped by the galloping monster's hooves.

"DIE!" the horse-like creature retraced its steps and charged again, narrowly missing Valtere who cannot properly see through the dense smoke.

"Look out!" Hiro cried as the Khentor launched itself again to the masked warrior. The Khentor misses again, fortunately for Valtere; but the latter knew that if this goes on, he would eventually be at a disadvantage. He needed to clear out the fog before he could fight evenly with that guy.

Valtere swiveled the Soul Binder's dials; the usual voice announced "**Ecrand**," and he clutched his silvery-purple javelin from the center of the belt. He turned the dials again and the voice spoke, "**Razu.**" Staying inside that spot on the ground bounded by the Soul Circle, he started to spin in position until he has enough torque and speed.

The Khentor charged again, "DIE!"

**"TWISTED LANCE!"**

Valtere, spinning like a small tornado now, successfully blew the fog (and the Khentor likewise) away from him. After some more spins, he eventually stopped and the mark of the Soul Circle below him died out, revealing a clearer view of his persistent attacker.

He wheezed when he saw the condition of his opponent. It was trembling; its reddish eyes were enveloped with fear of something that cannot be seen. Bruises and burn marks were all over its body – evident signs that someone other than Valtere got to him first, but did not finish him off. It was also staggering as if it was not in its right senses.

"What… happened to you?" Valtere muttered.

"Die… DIE!" the Khentor charged, yet again. Valtere dodged the attack.

"Something's wrong with him," Hiro observed, "It's like he's gone berserk."

"DIE!"

Valtere prepared his javelin, "Sorry, horsey. I have to do this."

He ran to the rushing Aguima, ready for a head-on collision, "**BRASH LANCE!**"

With one swift and forceful move, Valtere thrusted his spear right into the symbol on the Khentor Aguima's chest, and pulled it afterwards. The Khentor's eyes turned blank white, as it slowly crumbled into brown ashes.

Hiro said, "That was cruel…"

"The flow of Earth's energy inside him was already unstable, boy. That's the least thing we could do before he starts destroying everything… including himself…" answered Valtere.

He continued, "…As to who did this…"

He turned around, finding a glowing red figure partially hiding in a far passageway.

"I knew it."

Hiro's ghostly eyes followed to where Valtere was looking, "Who… is that?"

* * *

_**Empty Lot – 3:41 p.m.**_

A few minutes later, another pair of people arrived at the abandoned lot: one was a boyish guy who could easily qualify as an ikemen model, while the other was a full-bodied woman who looked like a gravure idol.

"Aren't we lost, Fujita-san?" the guy asked.

"No, this should be the place," Fujita Masako, the woman replied, "But where's Tomoi-san?"

The young guy pored over the area, looking for any signs of Tomoi-san and the girl he was supposed to turn over to them. Fujita, on the other hand, noticed the unusual heap of ash on the middle of the empty yard.

"Let's go, Ryuu-kun," Fujita commanded.

Yamasaki Ryuunosuke responded, "Eh? What about Tomoi-san?"

"He's dead."

* * *

_**Saturday – Unknown Room – 5:02 p.m.**_

_"What were you doing there?"_

_ "I came to help. Her orders."_

_ "But we're fine on our own! We could have easily defeated that guy!"_

_ "The Maiden ordered me to finish the Pseudo-Aguima as fast as I could, apparently to stop further damages and casualties."_

_ "You don't mean…?"_

_ "Yes, she had used too much of her energy conjuring Sakaguchi-kun's illusion earlier; she had no power left to create the Territory."_

_ "So you're saying… the damages… can't be undone?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "But… hey! Wait a sec! I thought she ordered you to kill him quickly. Why was it still alive when we arrived there?"_

_ "I thought I still have to give you the honor of doing the finishing move."_

_ "You're cruel."_

_ "That's my nature."_

Hiro jerked out of sleep and got up. Surely he had heard male voices, but he was in no condition to comprehend what they're talking about at that time. _Wait a minute… where am I?_ He thought.

"Ah! You're finally awake," greeted Valtere, now in his own ghost form.

"What happened? I…" his eyes widened when he saw the man sitting beside Valtere, "Sugita-sensei? What are you…?"

Sugita smiled, "I see you're very surprised."

"What? But… how?" Hiro looked too confused, "And… how did we get here anyway?"

His teacher answered, "You fainted, after Valtere switched your soul back. Your body might've had reached its limit already, so I took you to my apartment so you could get a good rest."

"I don't understand. How did you…" Hiro moved his head to Sugita, then to Valtere, and back, "… know about Valtere?"

"I've known about him way longer than you do," Sugita said, "I'm the keeper of his grave."

"You are…?" Hiro voiced in disbelief.

Valtere mumbled to Sugita, "I told you he's gonna freak out."

But of course, Hiro's reaction was expected. Since Wednesday night, he felt like his mind would explode of the freakiness around him: he made a contract with a ghost; he (technically, it's just Valtere) fought weird monsters; he saw his friends die and return to life; he chased a monster who kidnapped one of his friends; and now he learned that his high school teacher, Sugita Takanori-sensei, is also a part of this.

"So… you're the keeper of Valtere's grave…"

Sugita nodded in confirmation.

"… and you're also the horned skeleton we saw earlier?"

Sugita nodded again.

"Grave Keeper… so surely you also know about the Grave Maiden?"

"The… Grave Maiden?" a confounded Sugita asked back. The inquiries that he feared to be brought up were now here.

"Yes, the Grave Maiden. The leader of the Aguimas. The one who was visiting Valtere every new moon? You do know her, don't you?"

"Ah yes!" Sugita pretended to remember something, "That… woman," he seemed to have difficulty pronouncing the last word, as if he just said something really disrespectful. Valtere sniggered on one side, bearing that 'I-told-you-so' look in its translucent face.

Hiro spoke again, "I wonder if she's involved in this. But she's already dead. Valtere also said that it can't possibly be..."

"Yes! She couldn't be behind this…" Sugita found a perfect opportunity to change the topic and proceed to the reason why he revealed himself to Hiro,"…because the one you just fought… was a Pseudo-Aguima."

"A Pseudo-Aguima?"

"Remember when I told you the history of my race, kiddo? The Illusoris, the Aguima and the Orstans?" Valtere asked Hiro.

"Yes… kinda."

Valtere doesn't look convinced, "Okay, let me explain it again. We Illusoris gain our power to transform by channeling our own spirit, awakening its full potential. The Orstans, on the other hand, uses the Earth's spirit energy to animate organic dolls called the Aguimas."

"Yes, I know that."

"Now, it seems that the technology we had used back then didn't really die out. Some people learned about it and improved it – infusing Earth's energy into their own body instead of using the potentials of their own spirit. Thus the birth of the Pseudo-Aguimas."

"So these Pseudo-Aguimas… why did they capture Yui-chan? What do they want?"

"That we can't determine now," it was Sugita who answered Hiro's question this time, "Whatever it is, it might be related to their ultimate goal."

"Ultimate goal?"

"They aim to revive the Orstans, come next new moon."

"Next new moon…" there was a faint trace of terror in Hiro's voice.

"That's why I needed you to train hard. Your body's compatibility with Valtere has significantly improved over the last few days, as evidenced by your lesser physical injuries. However, your body's current condition still isn't enough for it to withstand long battles with Valtere."

"I know..."

"Fortunately, summer holidays are coming. We have enough time to further increase your compatibility with Valtere; and, if we are lucky, we may achieve Valtere's Ancient Form before the next new moon."

"Ancient Form?"

"Simply put, that's my real, ultimate form," Valtere said.

"When that time comes, Valtere will have enough power to rival and defeat the Orstans and the Pseudo-Aguimas," Sugita seconded.

"Ancient Form, huh…" Hiro sighed.

* * *

_**At the same time – Mansion d'Iviore**_

Situated on the hilly landscapes between the cities of Sonoda and Osada, Mansion d'Iviore was considered one of the most elegant houses ever built. It was a white, spacious and peaceful property beautifully located to capture the most breathtaking view of the mysterious Lake of the Onis from the big terrace on the west mountainside. It is home to one of the most prominent Zaibatsu (plutocrats) today: the Taguchi family, particularly the current heir, Taguchi Yusuke.

Taguchi stood on that very terrace, enjoying a sip from his favorite brandy while looking over the orange outline of the setting sun together with a small Azure Dragon playfully flying around his shoulders, when the two people he had been waiting for finally arrived.

"We're back, Taguchi-sama," Fujita Masako courteously greeted from behind him.

Taguchi turned to see his most precious colleagues, "So, how was it?"

"It was as you predicted. Tomoi-san was killed by an unknown warrior."

"Hey, as _you_ predicted? Nii-san, did you already know that this would happen?" asked Yamasaki Ryuunosuke.

"Yeah, sort of," Taguchi paced around the large common room, the little dragon following him, "The idea that the girl had guards to protect her isn't too far-fetched, anyway"

"So… was Tomoi-san like… a sacrificial pawn?" Ryuunosuke said skeptically.

"Yes."

Ryuunosuke's jaws dropped. Surely he adored his half-brother's plans and goals, but he couldn't help but be disturbed at his cold actions.

Taguchi continued, "And now that we know that an opposition exists, we need to discover who they are. Masako, was the experiment on Nakada-san successful?"

Fujita answered eagerly, overjoyed by the fact that the rich bachelor was calling her by her first name, "Yes, Taguchi-sama. By now he's a full-fledged Pseudo, like us."

"Good. I need to see him at once."

* * *

_**Monday – Tennotsukai Academy( Class 3-A) – 8:28 a.m.**_

"Are you sure it wasn't the Kamen Rider who saved you?" Keisuke asked Yui, as they returned to their seats after viewing the pictures shared by their class president, Kikuchi Rina.

"110% sure."

"Who's that, then?"

"I don't know. One thing's for sure, though. He's a super cool person."

Hiro chortled when he heard Yui's words.

"What's funny, Hiro-kun?" Yui snapped.

"No, nothing," Hiro replied. He found it hard to imagine Sugita-sensei, an 'old geezard' like the Tennotsukai students would say, as a super cool hero.

"By the way, Saka-dono, where were you at that time? You also disappeared like Yui-chan!"

"Me? I… uhm… I tried to follow the Horseman and the Kamen Rider, but I got lost in the way..." Hiro answered defensively.

"Nice excuse, boy," Valtere's ghost, who was floating beside Hiro, sneered.

"Oh shut up," Hiro mumbled.

The bell finally rang. Everyone in 3-A went back to their respective seats as their first teacher of the day entered the doorway.

"Good morning, kids. Have you had a great, _exhausting_, weekend?" Sugita-sensei greeted; however, Hiro thought that the former had purposely emphasized the word 'exhausting' only just for him.

The history classes went on, as incredibly normal as before. Even with the knowledge of Sugita-sensei being an extremely powerful person (and future training master, come summer holidays), he still couldn't believe how monotonous and overly boring the old teacher's voice was when lecturing them.

"Oh well, I don't think he'd be angry with me when I do this…"

Hiro gradually closed his eyes… and went to Dreamland.

**(To be continued)

* * *

**

_Next time: Another new enemy appears! Prepare for a 'chilling' start of summer!_

_Stay tuned for **Episode 9:** _**_Abominable Snowman's Summer Break! A Heart Frozen by Revenge!_

* * *

**

*Notes:

New Aguima Type: **Deofol **– a devil-based kaijin. Human form: **Sugita Takanori**

New Aguima Type: **Menzhan** – a miniature Seiryuu-based monster. Used as a pet by Taguchi Yusuke.

Oh, and I forgot to introduce this one back in Episode 7: **Globulle** - the furry ball monster in the sedan.

A/N: That's it! Episode 8, done! I hope you liked this chapter. As you may have noticed, a time limit was introduced: Valtere needs to achieve his Ancient Form (apparently his ultimate form) before the next new moon, or he'll have no chance of winning against the then-revived Orstans. Yep, you got it right: KR Valtere's second major arc will focus on this certain period of time; that means further development of the established characters, while inserting new ones (new Riders, perhaps?).


	9. Episode 9: Snowman's Summer Break!

_A/N: Episode 9 here! I honestly thought that I won't make it this far. Thanks to the people who reviewed: Dakegun, Ultimuus, Kisdota, Drakeonis, Shuriken16, LeftJoker and the anonymous guys. By the way, the first part of this chapter is a 'short' recap, so if you don't want to read it then skip it._

_This story is best viewed in 1/2 page mode.

* * *

_

_**Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere (Hiro's POV):**_

Hi! My name is Sakaguchi Hiro. 17 years-old. As much as I would want to say that I'm just your average high school guy, the surrounding circumstances could easily contradict it.

It all happened one Wednesday night. My friend Suzuki Yui and I treaded the darkness of our school, the Tennotsukai Academy, to discover the truth on the rumored Bike-Riding Ghost, which is said to appear at the school grounds every new moon. At first I thought that this was a pointless investigation, until a mysterious obelisk emerged from the ground, right in front of our eyes. While we were examining it, we were 'welcomed' by green, imp-like monsters never-before-seen by anyone in the planet (I soon learned that they are called Aguimas – organic dolls animated using Earth's spirit energy). They captured Yui and took her away, leaving me behind.

Just when all hope had been lost, a voice suddenly spoke to me:

"_Do you wanna look for your girl, eh?"`_

"I… uh… who are you? Where are you?"

"_I told you there's no time for explanations! Are you going to fight or not?"_

"F-fight?"

The next thing I know, I already made a pact with the Bike-Riding Ghost himself, Valtere. He possessed my body using a mystical device called the Soul Binder belt. With him controlling my own body, he is able to transform into a masked, armored, caped warrior that the citizens of Sonoda City would soon call the '**Kamen Rider**.'

The first few battles together with Valtere weren't exactly good – my body suffered a lot of injuries in the process (hey, I'm not a shonen manga character who could easily recover after being thrown down from the top of a five-storey school building; and heck, my soul's not even inside my body when that happened). Fearing for the worst, I told Valtere that I am backing out of our contract.

As it turned out, my decision to quit was a big mistake. That Saturday, when I, together with Yui and my two other friends Kagami Keisuke and Kanzaki Anna went to the newly opened ZECT Paradise (a theme park which owned by Keisuke's father, by the way), the Aguimas came out of nowhere and attacked indiscriminately, destroying the whole place and killing a lot of people, including Keisuke, Anna and Yui.

While I was grieving for their loss, someone appeared in front of me: a hooded woman called the Grave Maiden – the leader and creator of the Aguimas. I tried to attack her to exact my revenge, but what could a "normal" guy like me do against the formidable Maiden? She just played around and mocked me, until she eventually got bored and tried to finish me off with a blast from an energy ball.

At that time I thought that it was the end, but a miracle happened. Valtere took over my body without my consent, apparently to save me. The light of hope suddenly returned, just when I was about to be engulfed in darkness of despair. I then reinforced my pact with Valtere, this time with much willingness, thus he was able to possess my body again and transform. Valtere, who became more powerful since that, finished off all Aguimas and finally the Grave Maiden.

After that battle, everything returned to how it was before the monster attacked. I found Yui, Keisuke and Anna smiling before me like nothing happened. But when I thought that it was all over (and that long day would smoothly go on afterward), I was proven wrong.

Later that afternoon, we took a ride in the Ghost Train; one of the Paradise's featured attractions. Midway through the ride, someone captured Yui (yet again) and forcefully broke out of the railcar. Throughout the search, Valtere and I discovered that the culprit didn't really leave the place; he stayed in that dark tunnel, waiting for a right opportunity to take Yui out of the amusement park without anyone noticing. We foiled his plan, thus he was forced to assume his monster form (I found out later that they are called Pseudo-Aguimas – humans infused with Earth's spirit energy) and run out.

We chased him around and out of ZECT Paradise, then along Kusaka Avenue and the Main Road, while unintentionally wreaking havoc on the way (Valtere said that just like our previous battle with the Maiden, everything would return to normal after we're done with the horse-like monster… but it never did). When we almost had caught up on him at the highway, he took a sudden turn and went into a narrow alleyway on the sidewalk. Unfortunately (and fortunately for him), the alleyways were branched out like a maze, that's why it took a while before we could find him again. And when we did, it wasn't exactly the same person/monster we knew.

The Pseudo-Aguima already gone berserk, Valtere had no choice but to kill him quickly. We soon learned that the one who disrupted that guy's state of mind was no other than my History teacher, Sugita Takanori-sensei, who could also transform like the Pseudo-Aguima. Sugita-sensei revealed that the Pseudos' greatest goal was to revive the Orstans – Valtere and his race's greatest enemies – at the next new moon. He said that the only possible way to defeat them was if Valtere could achieve his ultimate form – the Ancient Form – thus he requested me to undergo training with him come summer break so that my body would have enough stamina to withstand Valtere's increasing spiritual power.

At that moment, I instantly knew that I'm about to experience the longest summer of my life. And so, my "not-so-normal" story continues… **(end of recap)**

* * *

_**Saturday – Mansion d'Iviore – 8:12 p.m. (25 days before new moon)**_

Just as magnificent as the view outside the Mansion, its interior design boasted an intricate, classical theme: beautiful wooden floors contrasted wonderfully with the white marble and stone walls. The lights from the crystal chandeliers provided a vibrant, yet romantic ambience around the receiving room. The spectacular crown moldings and vaulted ceilings captured the eyes of the distinctively careworn, forty-year-old man sitting on a soft couch.

"Anything the matter, Nakada-san?" asked Taguchi Yusuke, a bachelor in his late 20's and the owner of that house, sitting on a cream-colored sofa before Nakada. He gestured the butler stationed behind his guest to offer him wine, which the latter followed.

"No, nothing," Nakada lowered his head and gave a shy smile as he accepted his wine glass, "It's just that never in my life did I imagine that I'd be invited inside this house."

Taguchi returned a thoughtful smile, "You're now one of my important comrades, Nakada-san. Please feel at home." He then took a sip from his own glass, very carefully so as it would not drip into his all-white suit.

"Ano, Taguchi-san… what was that job that you mentioned earlier?" Nakada asked nervously.

"Ah, yes. Miyagi, give him the picture."

The butler behind Nakada took out something from its black coat and presented it to the guest, who then looked at it intently, "This girl?"

"Yes. I want you to take her to me, by any means possible. You might have to use your new powers, because that girl had guards with similar abilities like ours."

"I understand, Taguchi-san," Nakada said, taking another glance at the picture.

"Oh, and don't worry Nakada-san, you don't have to do this job right away. Feel free to explore your powers first… _for your own personal benefit, maybe_?"

There was a significant weight in Taguchi's statement. Somehow, Nakada seemed to have understood what his new employer meant.

"For my own personal benefit…"

* * *

**Episode 9: Abominable Snowman's Summer Break! A Heart Frozen by Revenge!

* * *

**

_**Monday – Akizuki Street – 5:00 p.m (23 days before new moon)**_

Hiro and Yui were on their way home from really stressful day. With only one week to go before the start of the summer break, their teachers found a perfect opportunity to bombard them with last-minute school work.

"That Sugita-sensei… who does he think he is? Giving us a 40-page homework when we've got more important things to do!" a slightly mad Yui said, "If my skulled hero was here I'd definitely ask him to give that old man quite a scare!"

Hiro laughed on the irony of Yui's words. _If only you knew…_

"By the way, Yui-chan, what do you mean by _important_ things to do?" Hiro asked, as they passed along an unmanned construction area.

"Angel's VOICE, of course! We're already out of schedule! Which reminds me, you still haven't given me your draft on the events at ZECT Paradise…"

"I already did!" Hiro snapped, "But you rejected it."

"What do you expect? There wasn't even a single mention of the Kamen Rider and the Horseman in your report," Yui defended her decision.

"But I thought that the focus of the story should be _why ZECT Paradise is a perfect summer destination for Tennotsukai students_, not some tabloid stuff like that," Hiro argued.

That seemed to trigger Yui's anger switch, "Fine then! If you don't want to do it, I'll do it!" she yelled as she started to walk faster away from Hiro.

"Oi, wait! That's not what I –"Hiro was interrupted by a speck of something cold that reached his cheeks, which he felt with his right palm, "Ice?"

Yui, who was a few blocks apart now, noticed it too and stopped, "Snow in summer?"

They both looked at the sky – it was fairly clear. "Where did this come from?" Hiro asked.

He suddenly heard Valtere talk in his mind, **"It's an Aguima!"**

"EEEEAAAAHHH!" screamed a voice from overhead, followed by the sound of shattering glass. Hiro and Yui jumped when they found a large object falling straight down to them, from a newly-broken window of a high-rise apartment. They dodged as the unidentified object crashed on the spot, and then went to take a closer look at the fallen object.

"Oh my god…" Yui gasped, dumbstruck.

The thing that fell from the apartment was a body of a woman, wrapped in a huge slab of ice.

* * *

"Yui-chan! Call the police!" Hiro bellowed and rushed inside the apartment building.

"Oi! Hiro-kun! Where are you going?" Yui cried, half-panicking as she started to dial 110 from her mobile phone. She heard Hiro say something after that, but it he was too distant now that she could no longer understand his words.

When Hiro arrived at the scene of the crime, his body was already controlled by Valtere.

The room was in complete chaos – obviously a sign of struggle between the victim and her killer. Chairs and tables were overturned, while women's clothes and jewelries were thrown on the floor. But what made this crime scene unique was the bone-chilling temperature inside the room; and, similar to the frozen woman below, some of the things around were also covered in thick ice. Moreover, the culprit behind this attack was still there, standing before the broken glass windows to look at his fallen prey.

"Omae wa…?" H-Valtere said, positioned at the doorway. The woman's killer turned around.

The culprit looked like a hybrid between a polar bear and an ape, about as tall as an average human, and had a fur as white as a snow except for a few brown spots around the face and limbs, and a green, glowing symbol of three circles on his chest similar to those marked on the Khentor Pseudo-Aguima before.

"W-what are you doing here?" the startled monster asked.

"I was about to ask the same question, y'know!" Valtere prepared to summon the Soul Binder.

"Get out of my way!" yelled the Geottan* Aguima, blasting off a beam of icy cold wind from his large, clawed hands. H-Valtere rolled over to one side, behind a stumbled chair to avoid the attack. The Geottan rushed away from the room immediately afterwards.

"He's running away!" said Hiro, floating still on the doorway. Yes, he did receive a full blast from the Geottan's attack, but being in ghost form, he was unaffected whatsoever.

"I know!" shouted H-Valtere. He quickly summoned the soul binder belt and prepared to transform. "HEN… SHIN!"

* * *

_**Akizuki Apartelle – 5:21 p.m.**_

"You can't escape me, Yogi Bear!" cried Valtere, now in his 'Kamen Rider' form, passing across a group of flabbergasted people. Some apartment neighbors opened their doors a little to get a closer look at the rumored 'Kamen Rider' and the other unidentified creature it was chasing.

The Geottan turned his head to his pursuer, "K-Kamen Rider?"

He then remembered something from his conversation with Taguchi Yusuke two days ago:

_**"You might have to use your new powers, because that girl had guards with similar abilities like ours."**_

"_**I understand, Taguchi-san."**_

_Was this the 'guard' Taguchi-san was talking about?_ the Geottan thought. _But I haven't even seen the girl yet!_

He sent off another blizzard, to which Valtere dodged handily. The places and objects that were hit by the chilling wind, however, were instantly covered with a thick layer of ice.

"Not so fast, cuddly bear!" Valtere took out the javelin (Soul Binder: **ECRAND!**) from the center of his belt.

"This isn't good…" said the Geottan. Just as Valtere was about to catch up, the monster jumped out of the building's fire exit and ran away into the construction area beside the apartment. Valtere followed suit and also jumped.

Meanwhile, on the front gate of the apartment, police officers finally arrived.

"This is quite an unusual crime…" commented one officer, looking at the slab of melting ice, a dead woman frozen inside it.

"Just as unusual as the Kamen Rider and the Horseman incident," commented the other, "but what's more unusual is how you, lovely Yui-chan, are always present during these strange events."

This officer, a fairly-skinned woman with short, black hair and wearing a blazer and pants that emphasized her long legs, eyed Yui, half-suspecting.

"No Detective Sakurai! Believe me, it was all coincidence!" Yui said pleadingly.

"Is it?" asked the first officer, smiling. He was a rather tall and well-built man wearing a brown coat and a fedora hat, whose facial features could easily switch from a tough, intimidating interrogator to a smooth, flirty agent.

"Of course, Detective Ito!" Yui answered.

"Okay… I'll believe you, for now. But still you have to come with us to give your statement." Detective Ito said.

"B-But…" Yui looked worried, "I have someone with me, but he went inside."

"Your boyfriend?" asked Detective Sakurai intriguingly.

"No he's not! He isn't asking me out yet…"

"But you like him, do you?" Sakurai followed.

"NO!" Yui cried defensively, though blushing.

"Oi Kazumi! Enough of the girlie talk!" Detective Ito said, already in the patrol car, "We have to go now!"

"Hai!" Sakurai affirmed, "Let's go, Yui-chan!"

Yui followed Detective Sakurai into the patrol car's back seat. Inside, she turned her head one last time at the apartment, hoping for Hiro to finally come out. But he didn't. The police car then sped off, while the forensic team transferred the frozen body into an ambulance.

* * *

_**Construction Area – 5:32 p.m.**_

"Damn, you're persistent!" the Geottan stopped running and conjured several ice shards made from vapors in the air. He launched the ice missiles to Valtere, which the latter blocked by swaying his javelin left and right.

"Is that all you got?"mocked Valtere, "Then it's my turn!"

The Geottan blasted its icy winds again, which again missed as Valtere rolled to one side. Valtere strided right next to the monster and smacked the latter with his javelin, sparks flying off from its body with every hit. He then prepared his weapon to make a perfect thrust to the monster. With one swift move, he bolted towards the bear-like monster and stroke his lance forward. **"BRASH LANCE!"**

However, when the javelin was about to strike the glowing symbol on the Geottan's chest, the monster seized the tip of the lance. "What the…?" Valtere muttered.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Hiro's ghost, watching the fight from a safe corner.

"Hee hee… is _this_ all you got?" the Geottan grinned devilishly, its eyes glinting red.

From its bladed end, the Geottan quickly covered Valtere's javelin with ice. Luckily, Valtere was able to release his grip from the weapon and back off before the crawling ice reached to the tip of his pointing finger. The Geottan then crushed the javelin right in front of Valtere. "NO!"

"One thing I learned from the video games I created: timing. Those who know how to land an attack at the right place and at the right time… always win," said the Aguima, "It's my turn again."

The Geottan charged towards the unprepared Rider, slashing the armored warrior's breastplate with its claws. Valtere was thrown a couple of feet in the air and crashed face down on the ground. When Valtere got up, Hiro noticed that the Rider was staggering in his steps.

"What's happening? Fight back!" encouraged Hiro.

"That's easier said than done, boy!" Valtere said. Hiro thought the Illusori sounded very uneasy, as if there was something wrong with him.

"I never thought the Kamen Rider would be this weak," the Geottan returned Valtere's mockery from earlier.

"KISAMA!" Valtere ran and swung his right fist at the Geottan, but the latter merely grabbed his hurtling knuckles.

"If I were you I wouldn't dare try that pathetic attack again," said the Geottan, covering Valtere's fist with ice. The Rider backed away at once and tried to crush the ice that was slowly creeping to his upper arm. The bear-like monster found this as a perfect opportunity to summon his pointed ice missiles again, to which Valtere was hit squarely this time, throwing him in the air once again.

"Valtere!" Hiro cried, but he couldn't do anything to help.

The Geottan approached the fallen warrior, "Now… I'll have you taste my bone-chilling power!"

He raised his clawed hands, and released another blizzard. Valtere writhed in pain as he was slowly being enveloped in ice, until he could no longer move and could no longer hear Hiro's screams from afar.

"It's game over for you, Kamen Rider."

The Geottan swung his furry arm upward, ready to deal the finishing blow to Valtere. However, just as he was about to do that, he felt his body shake violently, as if he was being electrocuted.

"AAAAAH! What's happening to me?" he screeched in terror, as he noticed his hands oozing some brown, ash-like particles. Realizing the danger he's in, the Geottan decided to back off.

"We'll meet again next time!" he yelled, even though he knew that his frozen opponent wouldn't hear it.

* * *

_**Tennotsukai Academy – 5:41 p.m.**_

"The Pseudo's leaving," a woman in a white cloak said, looking at the vast outline of the setting sun from the top of Tennotsukai's school building.

"Do you want me to finish him for Valtere?" asked the man behind her.

"No," the Maiden answered, "find Valtere instead. I think he's in trouble."

"Right away, Milady." Sugita bowed and left the rooftop at once.

* * *

_**At the same time – Unknown Location**_

Back into his human form, the Geottan Aguima – or rather, Nakada-san – lurched his way to an unknown area near Akizuki Street. There, a white sedan was waiting for him. Nakada opened the car's door to see a busty woman wearing a black catsuit.

"You're late," said the woman on the driver's seat, Fujita Masako, "damn late."

"I'm sorry… the Kamen Rider interfered," replied Nakada, sounding very sorry as he took the front seat.

"The Kamen Rider? But why would he be there?"

"I don't know Fujita-san. I don't know."

Fujita started the engine and maneuvered the sedan out of their getaway spot. From the car's radio, Nakada could hear the announcer's exclusive scoop:

_"We've just received very odd news from Sonoda City: a woman was reportedly killed by enclosing her in a block of ice! The woman was identified by the police as Arai Sumire-san, a video game designer. Police officers are now on the search for Arai-san's ex-husband, Nakada Takeshi-san, who, according to neighbors' reports, was the last person who visited the victim prior to her death. The officers are also investigating Arai-san's possible connection to the mysterious 'Kamen Rider', who also was seen at the scene of the crime, together with another unidentified creature who was dubbed 'Bearman' by the witnesses..."_

"Serves you right, Sumire…" spoke Nakada, clenching his fists so as to control his fury.

_**(To be continued)

* * *

**_

Next time: What happened to the Geottan? How will Valtere defeat this monster? Stay tuned for the answer on

**Episode 10: The Ice Demon's Tragedy! Valtere is Burrrrrrrning!

* * *

**

_New Aguima Type: __**Geottan**__ – a yeti-based Kaijin. Human form: __**Nakada Takeshi**__._

_A/N: That's it! Episode 9, done! The first part of an Aguima-centric minor arc, in my effort to give background stories not just to the heroes, but also to the enemies. Comments? Suggestions? Please review! Valtere's first official power-up is coming next episode, so STAY TUNED!_


	10. Episode 10: The Ice Demon's Tragedy!

This story is best viewed in 1/2 page mode.

* * *

_**Monday – Sugita's Apartment – 7:00 p.m. (23 days before new moon)**_

Valtere woke up from a rather comfortable couch. He found himself in a familiar house, where everything was arranged meticulously to even the minutest detail.

"Finally… it took us time to thaw you out," came Sugita's voice from the kitchen.

"Valtere!" cried Hiro, throwing himself to Valtere, almost in a tackling way. However, because he was still in ghost form, his gaseous body just slipped through the still armored warrior.

"Aww, I forgot," Valtere said. He pulled out the Soul Binder belt, dissolving his armor. He then ejected his own soul from the borrowed body and returned its true owner in.

Sugita seemed to be waiting for something, "You did not faint, Sakaguchi-kun?"

Hiro, back in his own body, was also surprised. After a battle, normally, his body would feel very limp – scars and bruises would be written all over his limbs and chest. Hiro thought that the Valtere's fight earlier with the Pseudo-Aguima should not be an exception; he was even ready to see frostbites in his toes and fingers as a result of Valtere being trapped in that ice slab. Oddly though, his body felt quite okay.

"That's curious…" Sugita remarked, "Your current compatibility with Valtere is just around 20%. At this rate some serious injuries is still evident; but… how come…? Unless…"

Sugita threw a stern look at Valtere's ghost: a handsome, silver-haired man floating beside Hiro, "… unless you… you did, do you?"

Valtere turned away from Sugita tautly, "I… I don't know what you're talking about!"

Sugita's face flashed a 'you-can't-lie-to-me' look in his face, "I see. So that explains a lot."

* * *

_**IVORYSOFT Headquarters – 8:00 p.m.**_

The white sedan arrived at the main headquarters of IVORYSOFT, a top video game publisher (ranked no.5 in Japan and no. 11 in the world) under the wealthy Taguchi Group of Companies. A guard approached and inspected the car, "Good evening ma'am!"

The driver – a woman wearing a black cat suit – smiled and showed her neck at the guard, revealing a tattoo of three conjoined circles. The guard took out a black card from his chest pocket and placed it near the tattoo, to which it reacted and transformed into an ID, complete with a mugshot and personal descriptions.

"Fujita Masako: Special Training and Research (SpecTRe) Division. Here's your gate pass, ma'am," the guard read the details in the transformed card and gave it to the woman.

"Thank you," replied Fujita. She closed the car's window and drove further inside the HQ.

Arriving at the IVORYSOFT main building's basement, Fujita, together with Nakada, got out of the car and went into an elevator. However, instead of pressing a button for the building's upper floors, she inserted the gate pass into a narrow slot below the buttons.

A female, electronic voice echoed, "Access to SpecTRe… granted." The elevator closed and took the pair further down the building.

Reaching the SpecTRe Division Board Room, they bowed to the company president, who acknowledged them quite appreciatively.

"You were all over the news, Nakada-san," said Taguchi Yusuke sitting at the far end of the conference table, his half-brother Yamasaki Ryuunosuke positioned to his right and reading some documents. "Have a seat."

"Thank you, Taguchi-san," Nakada said as he took a swivel chair to the left of the president. Meanwhile, Fujita sat beside Ryuunosuke.

Nakada continued, "I'm sorry, it didn't go as I planned."

"Tell me the story," Taguchi said interestingly.

Nakada related what happened a few hours ago: how he successfully exacted his revenge to his former wife, Arai Sumire; how the Kamen Rider mysteriously appeared at the apartment; and how he almost defeated him.

"… but when I was about to kill him I…" Nakada paused.

"What happened?"

"I… something happened to my body. I felt like I'm disintegrating," he quivered as he recounted on the unusual experience, "Taguchi-san, what's happening to me?" Nakada asked anxiously.

Taguchi pondered for a bit, and then gave Nakada a reassuring look, "Don't worry. I'll tell this to our researchers so they can investigate about it right away. What you have to worry about now is how to get the girl I asked you to capture."

"One more, Taguchi-san," said Nakada with a hard voice.

"What?"

"Please let me deal with one more person before I look out for the girl, Taguchi-san," Nakada requested, making Fujita's brows rise up.

"Oi, Nakada! Don't you think you're asking too much from Taguchi-sama alre –"

Taguchi gestured his hands to stop her, "Masako! Enough. Do what you want, Nakada-san."

Ryuunosuke looked at Taguchi, mentally asking why his elder brother easily approved of the newcomer's request, '_Nii-san… what are you thinking?'_

Nakada bowed in gratitude, "Arigatou, Shachou!"

* * *

**Episode 10: The Ice Demon's Tragedy! Valtere is Burrrrrning!**

**

* * *

**

_**At the same time – Sakaguchi Family House**_

Yui, dressed still in her sailor uniform, rang the doorbell at the gate of the Sakaguchi's. After a few seconds, a slender woman came out of the house and approached her.

"Yui-chan! What's brings you here? Come in!" greeted Sakaguchi Natsumi, Hiro's elder sister.

Yui denied the invitation, "No thanks, Natsumi-neechan. I just wanted to ask if Hiro's returned already?"

Natsumi frowned a little, "Uhm... no, he haven't. You know, I'm really getting worried about him. He's been going home late recently, and I always see fresh wounds all over him. Yui-chan, do you know anything about this?"

"I'm sorry, Natsumi-neechan. I don't know anything either. I feel like he's hiding something from us too," answered Yui. Scary thoughts were flooding her mind: _What if Hiro's still in the apartment? What if he saw the woman's killer? What if the killer also froze…?_

"No… " Yui gasped.

"Anything wrong, Yui-chan?" Natsumi asked, confused.

"Neechan… I don't know how to say this but… H-Hiro-kun…"

"What is it?"

"Yui-chan?" a male voice came from a few meters away. Yui turned to see the silhouette of a lean guy, his unruly hair traced on the shadows.

"Hiro-kun!" Yui rushed toward Hiro and embraced him tightly, almost crying. Hiro was dumbstruck, while Natsumi giggled like a fangirl.

"Kyaaaaaa!" Natsumi shrieked, "I knew there's something going on between you two!"

Realizing what she has done, Yui quickly took away her arms and distanced a bit from Hiro. Natsumi let out another "Kyaaa!"

"Baka, Natsu-nee! You're getting the wrong idea!" Hiro said crossly.

"Oh really?" teased Natsumi.

"REALLY!" Hiro and Yui both yelled, which made Natsumi go "Kyaaa!" again.

"I… I should go now. I still have to help okaa-san with the restaurant," said Yui awkwardly. Hiro nodded, also feeling awkward thanks to his sister, "Uhm… Alright then."

Yui bade her goodnights to Hiro and Natsumi and she started walking away. Natsumi pushed Hiro's shoulder, "Oi, Hiro! Didn't I tell you to be a gentleman?"

"Eh?"

"You shouldn't let Yui-chan walk home alone in the night! Go follow her!"

"B-but… why should I?" Hiro complained. Valtere spoke in his head, _'Your sister has a point, boy! I don't think we should leave that girl alone, especially now we know she's targeted by the Pseudos.'_

"Okay, okay. I get it," Hiro said, scratching his head as he ran to catch up to Yui.

* * *

_**At the same time – Underground Library**_

"I see," said the Grave Maiden, after Sugita had reported something very important.

"At this rate I'm afraid that he'll never be able to reach Ancient Form, or even defeat that new Pseudo-Aguima that appeared earlier," remarked Sugita.

"It seems Valtere was not as fierce as the books describe him," the Maiden said. Sugita agreed. "What should we do now, Milady?"

The Maiden paced around the dungeon, periodically glancing at the lit torches on the walls as if she was asking them to give her a sign. For once, Sugita saw uncertainty painted all over his master's hooded face.

"Hand me the book, Esquirra."

"What book, Milady?"

"The copy of the _Forbidden Codex_. Oh, and please bring me the _Annals of the Illusori_ too."

"The Codex? You're not thinking of giving Valtere another gift, aren't you?"

The Maiden just smiled.

"No, you can't!" Sugita bickered, "You've already used up too much energy! What you plan to do is too dangerous!"

"This is the only way, Esquirra," calmly replied the Maiden.

"NO! THERE IS ANOTHER WAY! Me! I can finish that Pseudo for Valtere!"

"You can't!" the Maiden's voice grew louder, "You'll have your purpose later."

"But why not –"

"ENOUGH, ESQUIRRA!" the Maiden bellowed, "Give me the books I mentioned and leave."

Sugita hesitated for a moment, but soon acknowledged his defeat for he knew that further arguments with the Maiden were pointless, "As you wish, Milady."

* * *

_**Yukai Soba Restaurant – 8:07 p.m.**_

"You don't have to obey your sister," Yui said, arriving at the busy restaurant with Hiro. Yui's mother greeted them from restaurant's counter.

Hiro waved his hands to Yui's mother to acknowledge the greeting. He then turned his face back to Yui, "No! I also wanted to make sure you get here okay." Valtere said _'Way to go, boy!' _from inside his head.

"Thanks for the concern," Yui blushed a bit, "Hey, would you like to eat before heading home?"

Hiro refused, "No, thanks! We still have to do that 40-page homework, remember?"

Yui yelped, "Oh gosh! I totally forgot about that!" Hiro laughed at her reaction, "Well… see you tomorrow."

"See ya."

Hiro bowed to the direction of Yui's mother and left the restaurant, Yui's eyes following him until he was out of sight.

'You were so dang cool back there, kid!' Valtere's ghost came out of Hiro's waist, sneering as the latter crossed the murky street.

"At least I'm not trying hard to look like one."

"What did you say?" Valtere's eyes widened.

"You think you'd look cool if you sacrificed half of your spirit energy to protect me?" Hiro jeered.

"What the… after all I've done to keep your body away from harm, THIS IS WHAT I GET IN RETURN?" Valtere bawled, slightly pissed, "Fine then! If you don't want to –"

"I'm just joking," Hiro said shortly, "Thanks, buddy."

"Oh…" The flame of anger that was starting to ignite inside Valtere suddenly died down, replaced by bashfulness, "A joke… heheh… sorry about… y'know… I yelled at you… heheh…"

* * *

_**Tuesday – Akizuki Street – 7:27 a.m. (22 days before new moon)**_

A stooped man, obviously a salaryman based on the way he wore his all-black suit and tie, was striding along Akizuki Street carrying a medium-sized briefcase. Reaching the façade of Akizuki Apartelle, though, he took a halt and gazed at the broken glass window on the fourth floor – the same window where a frozen woman was thrown out yesterday afternoon.

"Sumire…" the man muttered. He resisted the urge to go into the victim's room; but even if he did go there, he still won't be able to enter it because it was still under police investigation. He took his eyes away from the apartment and resumed walking, until a man forced him to stop again.

"Long time no see, Masa-kun," said the haggard-looking man standing before him. He wore a black trench coat and big sunglasses, hoping that patrolling police would not recognize him.

"Nakada-san?" said the salaryman.

* * *

_**At the same time - Mansion d'Iviore**_

"Nakada-san's story?" Ryuunosuke asked, moving a black, crystal bishop on a marble chessboard situated on the Mansion's magnificent terrace.

"Yes. Do you know why I chose him for this job?" Taguchi asked back, drinking from his cup of tea before moving a white knight.

"No," Ryuunosuke said simply, "But I'm curious as to why you're letting him do as he please."

Taguchi spoke, "_The Iceman's Escape_. Surely you remember that game?"

"Yeah. It was the game that launched PlayingStation to commercial success 15 years ago; toppling our _Last Fantasy VII_ for the VNES released also that year. What's with that game?"

"Nakada-san made it."

"Really?" Ryuunosuke said in disbelief.

"Yes. It was originally a college project, but it turned out unbelievably good that they soon sold the game to Jintendo."

* * *

_**At the same time – Akizuki Street**_

Nakada and the salaryman named Takao Masayoshi was still exchanging grim looks from a significant distance, except now they were in a mucky lane unnoticed by other people on the street.

"What do you want from me? Are you the one who killed Sumire?" Masayoshi asked. Nakada grinned coldly, "What if I do?"

Masayoshi backed off a bit; he did not expect that Nakada would confess at once.

"W… why? What did Sumire do to you?"Masayoshi's voice grew louder, unsure if he was getting furious or he just wanted to act brave in the presence of the cold-blooded murderer.

A long, awkward silence followed. Nakada sure knew that he made his old friend cower in fear, and he wanted to enjoy every moment of it. He made slow, heavy footsteps forward; Masayoshi, on the other hand, stepped back. "You, of all people, should know why I did that," whispered the bespectacled man.

Masayoshi spoke again, his voice beginning to tremble, "Y-You're planning to kill me next, aren't you?"

Nakada replied, smiling like a dog, "Who knows?"

* * *

_**At the same time – Mansion d'Iviore**_

"It's a collaborative work between three people, actually: Takao Masayoshi, Arai Sumire, and of course Nakada," Taguchi continued, moving a white pawn.

"They must've been very skillful programmers to make something that great," said Ryuunosuke, pertaining to the game Nakada and his group made.

"Their skills are out of the question, but here's the catch: where did they get their funds?"

"What do you mean?" Ryuunosuke asked.

"Let me give an example: It took us a great deal of manpower, hardware and software costs before IVORYSOFT was able to complete and launch _Last Fantasy VII_. How come these three people – Nakada, Arai and Takao – managed to create a 'big' game, considering they were jobless, college students?"

"University research funds? Scholarship, perhaps?"

"I've already looked up their profiles; they were not connected with any sponsor whatsoever," confirmed Taguchi.

Ryuunosuke moved a black pawn, "Will you please get to the point, Nii-san?"

Taguchi took out Ryuunosuke's pawn with his rook, "The money they used… was stolen."

* * *

_**At the same time – Akizuki Street**_

"If you're going to kill me…" Masayoshi took something out of his briefcase, "then I'll have to kill you first." Quickly, he drew out a gun and pointed it at Nakada.

"Oh…" Nakada smirked, "Nice toy you got there, but I wonder if you can pull the trigger…"

Masayoshi was grinning now, convinced that he had turned the odds to his favor, "If you think I can't do it, you're wrong. I've been ready to face jail since 15 years ago anyway."

"Do it, then," Nakada challenged Masayoshi, spreading his arms wide, "But don't you think it's getting… a little colder here?"

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" A shivering Masayoshi aimed his gun, ready to pull the trigger at any moment. He also felt the sudden chill – like a icy tongue licking on his skin – but he did not bother telling it.

"Well then, like how the Iceman escaped from the Diabolic Yeti, let's see if you can escape me!" A blinding surge of bluish light emanated from Nakada. When the light subsided, he was already in his Aguima form – a white, bear-like humanoid.

"W…what are y-you?" asked the terrified salaryman.

"The Diabolic Yeti," Nakada said, icy mist flowing out from underneath his thick fur, freezing the nearby grimes, "the final boss of the game we created… and the one who'll freeze you to death!"

"BAKEMONO!" Masayoshi closed his eyes and fired his gun indiscriminately.

* * *

Hiro, dressed in his usual gakuran, was hurrying along Akizuki Street mumbling words such as "I'm late!" and cursing his alarm clock for not ringing earlier.

'I told you to get up already but you didn't listen to me, boy!' reprimanded Valtere, talking inside Hiro's consciousness.

"Quit yapping, you're not my Natsu-nee!" cried Hiro, breathing heavily with each word. He was about to run faster to make it to his first class when he heard several deafening gunshots, taking Hiro and the other people in the neighborhood aback. "What the hell was that?"

'The Aguima!' Valtere exclaimed, 'I can sense him again!'

"This early? But I still have school!" complained Hiro.

"Well, the enemy won't wait for you, will they?" said Valtere.

"B-but…" He thought of other reasons to take a pass with this fight, but part of him agreed that this battle takes top priority before anything else. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

_**Akizuki Street – 7:44 a.m.**_

Masayoshi lay face down on the ground. Blood could have seeped from his abdomen due to the icicle shard that hit him, but his lifeless body was frozen all over. Nakada – or rather the Geottan Aguima – stood still to admire his gruesome work.

"Game over, Masa-kun," spoke his grumbling voice. He looked at his clawed hands; it was starting to ooze ash-like particles again, but it doesn't matter anymore to him. He finally did what he ought to do ever since he agreed to become Taguchi's newest lab rat. Now, he has to repay the favor – he must find and bring the girl named Suzuki Yui to his employer.

The Geottan was about to revert to his human form and leave when he heard someone shouting from the other side of the alley, "YOU?"

"Oh," the Geottan said, "the Kamen Rider."

Valtere appeared from the other side, already transformed and holding his javelin. Hiro's ghost floated behind him, his eyes not in the direction of the Aguima but rather in the frozen, dead man at the monster's feet.

"Does this battle include seeing dead people in a regular basis?" Hiro asked, horror-struck.

"No, kid. But that makes him all the more worthy to be vanquished!" Valtere replied as he started to charge to the Aguima.

"You never learn, Kamen Rider! Being in a narrow place like this, I'm at an advantage! You can't dodge my attacks!" the Geottan launched violent, icy blizzards at the armored warrior.

"Oh really?" mocked Valtere. He leapt high (Soul Binder: **Muire!**) and hit the Geottan's head with a hammer kick, making the monster flinch. Valtere descended behind the monster and made high roundhouse kick, pinning the Geottan to the nearby wall with the ball of his foot. "How about that, Yogi Bear?"

The Geottan laughed, "Another mistake, dear Kamen Rider…"

Valtere felt it again – the annoying feeling of ice creeping fast from his foot up to his thighs. He took away his right foot from the Geottan's head at once and drew farther from the monster.

"This isn't good…" Valtere muttered; the thick ice that covered his right thigh was slowly paralyzing him. Hiro kept calling for Valtere in a corner, annoyed because he couldn't do anything but watch the painful battle.

"Well, Kamen Rider, shall I freeze you again like yesterday?" teased the Geottan, his arms raised and ready for another blizzard. The Illusori wanted to run away and evade the forthcoming attack, but he couldn't move his right foot anymore.

"Here I go, Kamen Rider!"

* * *

Thick, gray fog suddenly enveloped the filthy alley, obscuring the Geottan's vision and making him call off his attack. For a second the Aguima thought that the fog originated from the cold haze and brown ashes coming off his own hands and fur since he transformed, but he realized it wasn't. "What the…?"

A glowing red figure appeared covertly from Valtere's back and handed what seemed like a red disc to him, "Take this."

Valtere turned his head to the red, skeletal humanoid and collected the disc, "You…?"

Sugita, the Deofol Aguima, responded, "It's a gift from _her_."

"Another gift, huh? I still owe her one for the motorcycle," whispered Valtere.

"That's why she expects you to do your job well."

"Yeah... I know, right?" said Valtere.

Sugita chuckled, "Good luck." The Deofol vanished like a mirage, leaving Valtere with the disc in hand. "Well, let's see what this thing can do…"

Valtere slid the disc into the slot above the Soul Binder belt. As soon as it was securely attached, the engravings on the belt burned a fiery red. The rotating dials on the center of the belt moved on its own, as if aligning itself. When the dials stopped moving, a male, breathy voice spoke from the belt: "**Burrrrning…**"

A reddish orange version of Valtere's Soul Circle appeared on the ground. Small balls of fire floated from the circle and collided violently with Valtere's breastplate and limb paddings, melting the ice that covered his thigh and foot at the same time. The black and red outlines from Valtere's armor and helmet turned into a deep red, while the bat-inspired chest protector and cape turned into a gradient of orange and purple. His bug-like eyepieces also turned into neon orange while the scorpion sting-like crown remained unchanged.

With a fierce swish from his cape, Valtere blew away the thick fog, revealing his new, powered-up self to the still confused Aguima. Hiro dropped his jaw in awe, "Sugoi…"

* * *

"What… you…?" The confounded Geottan almost tripped with the bulk of the dead, frozen body of Masayoshi beside him.

"Hello Yogi Bear! Sorry for that short interruption. Now… where were we? Ah! You say you're gonna freeze me? Try that again!" Valtere launched himself to the Aguima once more, angling his fists to land a powerful punch.

"I told you that's useless!" the Geottan yelled, catching Valtere's fists and freezing it.

"Oh really?" Valtere's fists emitted a fiery glow which easily melted the covering ice. He then continued his punch, giving the Geottan a straight, mighty blow on its belly and throwing him away.

Slouched on a pile of rubbish, the Geottan glanced at that part of his abdomen where the Kamen Rider landed his hot fists – it sure looked terrible. The burned skin was cracking like dry ceramic, and brown ashes were gushing out of it like water from a pressurized hose. Valtere noticed this. "Unstable already? Was that blow really powerful?"

_'No, it can't be…'_ Nakada thought. _'After I spent years in agony, waiting for the right time to deal my revenge to Sumire and Masayoshi… I CANNOT DIE YET!'_

Other thoughts flooded Nakada's mind, as if someone was implanting it to his head. He saw images of Sumire and Masayoshi laughing and looking down at him. _'No… don't look at me like that...'_

"AAAHHHH!" the Geottan summoned dozens of ice shards and sent it to Valtere at great speed. His confidence now returned thanks to the Maiden's 'gift,' Valtere dodged fashionably at the hurtling icicles, somersaulting and walking along the walls as he evaded.

"There goes air-headed Valtere again…" jeered Hiro's ghost, watching still at a distance.

"YOU CAN'T KILL ME, KAMEN RIDER, OR MY EFFORTS WOULD GO TO WASTE!" he released another blizzard – the most ferocious and catastrophic blizzard he could make. Valtere's orange-hot armor, however, could endure it without any problem. Valtere swiveled the dials on his belt until the same grumpy voice echoed: "**Inffffernal…**" A weapon similar to his usual javelin protruded from the center of the Soul Binder, however it is colored silvery-orange. He swung the javelin once; it ignited except the handle, while a sharp, axe blade was mounted magically on that part of the pole below the spike.

"You've killed two people now, Yogi Bear. I cannot let you walk on this Earth alive any longer."

_'In the end, will I die together with those filthy people?'_ Nakada thought. _'He's coming now… and he's about to deal the finishing blow… No, don't laugh at me, Sumire! Masa-kun! Damn you all!'_

"NOOOO!" the Geottan stood up and rushed head-on to Valtere.

Valtere moved his left foot forward, ducked a bit, and swung the burning halberd with one speedy strike, slashing halfway through the Geottan."**VICIOUS LANCE!**"

* * *

_**At the same time – Mansion d'Iviore**_

"Nakada-san had another useful skill: he was a very good hacker," said Taguchi, moving his white Queen across the chessboard, "Everyday, he stole little money – usually a few thousand of Yen – from financial corporations and then he transferred them to dummy accounts, until he was able to collect enough money to fund the project."

"Arai Sumire knew about Nakada's dirty work, but instead of turning him to the police, she joined in and developed a romantic relationship with him; they would eventually get married later on. Midway through the project, Takao Masayoshi also discovered their secret, but because he feared that he might be included with the charges once this thing leaked up, he also chose to keep it.

The game was soon launched; it became an instant hit around the university. Soon enough, Jintendo learned about the game and bought it, and the rest is history.

Those were Nakada's happiest days. The game returned quadruple the amount of their stolen capital; Nakada and Arai's wedding followed soon after and they had twin sons. However, that happiness was short-lived.

On a family trip, Nakada lost his then four-year-old sons in a boat accident. The boys were presumed to be dead, even though their bodies were never found. The couple lived dreadfully afterward: Nakada became alcoholic, while Arai became addicted to gambling. They were fired from work, and all the money they had because of _The Iceman's Escape_ was totally gone.

Arai suggested that Nakada go back to hacking once more, which he did. Every single day, Nakada would take hundreds of thousands of Yen from various companies, which Arai would just spend on gambling. Surely you remember the "Big Shutoff," Ryuu-kun?"

"That day when almost all banks went offline was it?" Ryuunosuke said.

"Exactly. They finally knew someone was breaking into their system, that's why they shut down their servers and reinforced their security. Nakada knew that further infiltration with the banks' servers would spell trouble; but Arai was persistent, threatening him that she will tell the police about his dirty deeds if he stops. Of course, Arai could not really say it to the police, because she too would not be free from the possible charges.

Finally, he and Arai decided to part ways. Nakada thought that it would be the best for them, so that they can ponder about what happened with their lives. He hoped that one day, when they finally found peace of mind, he and Arai would be together again; but he was wrong. Nakada found out that the main reason why Arai broke off with him was because she was having an affair with his former college group mate and supposed best friend Takao.

For years, Nakada's life went totally astray; until I found him one day, sleeping underneath a flyover because his house was sequestered. When I first saw him, his eyes were full of hate – I wanted to take that away from him. I told him about the power of the Pseudo-Aguima, and how he could use it to bring rightful judgment to the ones who put him into that horrible situation, and he agreed to join with me. When brought into the Aguima Transformation Chamber, he chose the form of the Diabolic Yeti, the final boss of _The Iceman's Escape_, because he said that character was a personification of absolute hate and wrath."

Ryuunosuke fell silent for a while, then spoke again, "I have a new opinion on Nakada-san now. I'll make sure to treat him with utmost respect next time –"

"There'll be no next time," Taguchi snapped.

"What do you mean?"

"I have received Nakada-san's Aguima Performance Record early this morning. The flow of Earth's energy inside him was too aggressive. He might've achieved a higher level of transformation very early, but his body could not keep up with this sudden change," explained Taguchi.

Taguchi continued, "At this rate, he'll definitely die two hours after he transforms into his Aguima form again, unless he'd be killed first by that Kamen Rider."

Ryuunosuke' was flabbergasted, "From the start you did not intend him to capture the girl… but instead you let him do as he please with his short-lived power…"

"I also needed his battle data to give me inputs as to why the Earth's energy reacts differently between humans, but yes, the main reason why I sent him off was to let him fulfill his utmost desires… at least before he die."

Ryuunosuke lowered his head. Taguchi saw a drop of tear fall from his brother's left eye.

"Don't worry Ryuu-kun," Taguchi smiled, "Nakada-san, Tomoi-san, and all the other brave souls that were sacrificed for this mission shall be rewarded by our Great Leader, once he is revived…"

_**(To be continued)

* * *

**_

Next time: An important person returns to a friend's life, but what if Hiro discovers that this person is also a Pseudo-Aguima?

Stay tuned for **Episode 11:** **The Werewolf's Desperate Cry! Irreversible Acts!

* * *

**

_A/N: That's it, Episode 10, done – the longest chapter so far. I hope you liked Valtere's first **Soul Buffer **set of power-ups: the **Burning Soul Buffer** which includes a new weapon (**Infernal Halberd**) and armor upgrade (**Hinotama Guard**), even though it seems like Valtere couldn't take full credit for finishing that Aguima, and the fight with the upgraded form was too quick._

_So far we had a centaur and a yeti as featured monsters; next episode I'll bring in a werewolf, then after that… a new Rider. Oh, and if you thought Nakada-san was just a random old guy given much focus on this chapter, read his story again – you'll know that something (or rather, someone... but they may be two…) is coming very soon._


	11. Episode 11: Werewolf's Desperate Cry!

_**Tuesday – Akizuki Street – 9:42 a.m. (22 days before new moon)**_

'_Takao Masayoshi – 37 years old. Based on the blunt wounds, the unusual low temperature and hardness of the body, not to mention the puddle of water beneath him, no doubt this man was killed in the same manner as Arai Sumire,'_ Ito Sergio, an inspector from the Sonoda City Police Department surveyed the dead body lying down in a dark, grimy alley along Akizuki Street.

A female detective approached him, "Just received info from HQ, Serge. Takao-san was indeed related to Arai Sumire – they were lovers."

"Which just supports our theory that the culprit is Nakada Takeshi," Ito remarked, while he took off the rubber gloves from his hands and tuck it inside his trench coat. "But –"

"The murder method can't be possibly be done by a normal human, I know," the female detective, Sakurai Kazumi, continued his statement.

"Except the Bear – stand back for a moment, Kazumi," Ito signaled his partner, seeing the other members of the forensic team approach to transfer the frozen corpse onto a stretcher. As soon as Takao's body was properly taken away into the nearby ambulance, Detective Ito resumed, "As I was saying, if we consider our witnesses' testimonies, our culprit is a bear creature which can release high-pressured blizzard from his hands… but..."

"In these times, nothing is impossible, Sergie-kun," Detective Sakurai patted her partner's shoulder. "If there were creatures such as the Kamen Rider and the Horseman living in the city, then I guess it's safe to believe that there is also a 'Bear Man' around."

"But why would this… Bear Man kill these people? It's not like he's Nakada Takeshi's pet, right?"

Sakurai replied in a misty tone, "Or… it might be that... the Bear Man is actually… Nakada-san himself." She shuddered at the thought of her own words.

The two officers continued discussing about the identity of the mysterious killer, not knowing that the one they were talking about was just right beside them – not as Nakada Takeshi, nor as the Bear Man, but a plain heap of black, burnt ash.

* * *

_**At the same time – Mansion d' Iviore**_

"Checkmate," declared Yamasaki Ryuunosuke, putting his black bishop two tiles diagonally away from Taguchi Yusuke's lone white king, while his own king and another knight was keeping the enemy to the corner of the marble chessboard.

Taguchi acknowledged his defeat. "You got me there, Ryuu-kun. I thought I can make a stale mate, at least."

"You won't, nii-san, as long as I'm using Deletang's triangle method," Ryuunosuke said proudly. It seemed like he already forgot that he was crying over Nakada's death just a few hours ago.

A small azure dragon flew over Taguchi's shoulders, sympathizing with his master's fifth consecutive defeat. Taguchi took the dragon and let it play around his left hand. "You're really good with this stuff, aren't you Ryuu-kun?"

"Just about the only thing that I'm better than you," Ryuunosuke said laughing. "Nothing beats you with real-life strategies though."

"Is that your way of asking for a salary increase?" Taguchi raised his brows a bit.

"Call it _allowance_, nii-san," Ryuu flashed a mighty grin.

A ring from Taguchi's smartphone disrupted the joyful atmosphere at the Ivory Mansion's terrace. He answered the call, "What is it? WHAT? WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING? WHY DID YOU LET HIM ESCAPE? I want him back before sunset! NO EXCUSES! NO BUT'S!"

Taguchi pressed the end button forcefully and slammed his phone against the chess table, which made the pieces resting above it to topple down. The small dragon, meanwhile, flew away in shock with his master's sudden outrage.

"What's the matter, nii-san?"

Taguchi made a deep breath to attenuate his temper before answering his brother, "Number 29 has escaped the facility."

* * *

**Episode 11: The Werewolf's Desperate Cry! Irreversible Acts! (Part 1)**

**

* * *

**

_**Tennotsukai Academy – 4:37 p.m.**_

Hiro barely had time to think about what happened that morning. His teachers gave them another set of last-minute schoolwork; except Sugita-sensei, who purposely took this day off to "deal with certain matters," whatever that was. Things inside the newspaper club were also a little more hectic than ever before. Yui was back to her old, bossy self, pressuring Hiro, Anna and Keisuke to give her more information about the Kamen Rider and her skeletal savior. Hiro was quite happy, because it's been a while since she acted like that, the last time being that afternoon when she told him to help her investigate about the Bike-Riding Ghost.

"How about we give those guys a label?" Yui suggested, prancing around the Angel's VOICE office like a supervisor.

"Label? Like 'Unidentified Lifeform,' 'Unknown' or something like that?" asked Keisuke, who was in front of a pc while editing some pictures.

"Exactly! Ow –" Yui almost tripped over the legs of Anna's chair. "Sorry, Anna-chan!"

"Don't mind that," Anna answered blankly, her eyes focused on her monitor.

"Now, as I was saying… we should give a collective name to those creatures, so our readers can identify them quite easily. Anything that comes to your mind?" Yui asked, directing her inquiry to all three of them.

Keisuke raised his hands, like a student eager to show off in front of his classmates, "How about… Orphenoch?"

Yui shook her head in disagreement, "Too old-sounding, Kei-kun."

"Hmm… how about Undead?" Keisuke said.

"They're not like zombies or anything…" Yui denied the suggestion again.

"Hmm… Makamou?"

"Not appropriate."

"Worm? Imagin?"

"Sounds cool but…"

"Fangire? Dopant?"

"Still not it…"

"How about… Aguima?" Hiro suggested.

"That's also a nice name but… I don't like it," Yui said.

"EH? But that was…" Hiro would've revealed to them that 'Aguima' was the right term to call those monsters but it'd sound too suspicious.

Finally, it was Yui herself who decided for the name, "I know! Let's call them… Sonomon."

"SONOMON?" Hiro and Keisuke tilted their heads.

"Yeah! Y'know, there's Pokemon and there's Digimon, so… why not call them Sonomon – Sonoda City Monsters! Cool, isn't it?"

Hiro and Keisuke stumbled from their seats.

* * *

"I'm off," Anna turned her pc off, prepared her bag and bade goodbye to the three of them.

"Oi, coffee girl! We're not –" Keisuke's mouth was abruptly covered by Yui's hands.

"Go on, Anna-chan! See ya tomorrow!" Yui said, keeping her grip on the struggling Keisuke. Anna nodded, still with that blank expression with her face, and left the office.

Yui let go of Keisuke's mouth. "BAH! What was that for, Suzuki-chan?" he said, panting.

"Can't you keep your rude mouth shut? You don't know what today is, don't you?"

* * *

_**Asakura Street – 5:40 p.m.**_

_How long has it been? Eight years? Nine?_ Anna couldn't recall anymore. What she only remembered were how she cried so hard when her parents divorced; and how her little feet attempted to chase after her mother's car when the latter, together with her big brother, went away from home. She wanted to see them again, just for once, but she guessed it was impossible.

She stopped on the top edge of the winding street, where the old, musty house of the Kanzakis was in clear view. She'd never thought it'd look very lonely from that distance. Her eyes journeyed around her own house, where she caught someone reclining on the white fences, beside a small hedge.

"Who…?" She looked carefully at the man. He wore a white dress, similar to those worn by a hospital patient. His left shoulder had a bloody wound, to which his left hand was pressed on so as to stop the bleeding. His shoulder-length hair was dirty and matted, giving the impression that he hadn't had any bath for quite some time.

Sensing Anna's presence, the man turned his head over her direction. The girl was shocked when she realized who that was. Yes, he surely looked so much older now, even corpse-like because of the deep, dark eye sockets and bony face, but with his thick brows and the scar on his left cheek, there's no mistaking that it was…

"Onii-chan…" Anna muttered.

* * *

_**At the same time – SpecTRe Board Room (Under IVORYSOFT Building)**_

Taguchi called for an emergency meeting with the SpecTRe's security department, together with some of the top researchers and officers of the covert organization. He wanted a clear explanation as to why a very important specimen such as Number 29 got his way out of the heavily-guarded facility.

"I believe this was an inside job, Shachou," said Mori Takashi, a balding man who is the head of the security department.

"You've got proof?" Taguchi asked with crossed eyebrows.

Mori lowered his head. "None yet."

"Tsk… then you shouldn't go saying nonsense stuff!" sneered Fujio Shingo, the researcher on duty that morning. Mori threw a mean look at the pale doctor; if there was anyone who had a motive to do this and put the blame to his own department, it could only be Fujio.

"Why are you looking at me like that eh?" the doctor grinned maliciously at Mori.

The security chief clenched his fists and whispered, "You'll see, Fujio…"

Taguchi spoke, "Ryuunosuke, I want you to investigate on this matter. To everyone, if I found out that there was indeed a traitor within this organization then… _prepare for the consequences._" He stressed his last words to incite fear to everyone inside the board room.

"As for you Mori… Masako," Taguchi called, to which the latter responded with delight. "Yes, Taguchi-sama?"

"I want you to search around the city – round the whole prefecture or the whole country if you must – Number 29 must be returned at all costs."

"I'll do that, Taguchi-sama."

"Mori," the president called for the security chief this time, "bring some of your men with you and go aid Masako."

"Yes, Shachou."

"If you fail… you know what'll happen, right?"

"Yes sir…" Mori bowed down, lower than he had ever been in his life. Through his peripheral vision, he could see Fujio laughing quietly.

* * *

_**Wednesday – Asakura Street – 3:32 p.m. (21 days before new moon)**_

Anna did not go to school the next day. Yui was utterly worried, while Keisuke thought otherwise, "Kanzaki-chan must've gone partying for herself. It's her birthday today anyway…"

"You certainly were not listening to what I told you yesterday, don't you?" Yui turned to Hiro and Keisuke, as they started their descent into the winding road. "Anna-chan hadn't had any proper birthday celebration for years, ever since her mother and brother left their home."

"Maybe she got over it," said Keisuke, unconsciously enhancing the spikes of his blonde-dyed hair with his fingers.

"Okay, we're here," announced Yui, stopping in front of a narrow gate. She rang the doorbell, and an elderly woman emerged from the door of the white house.

"Who might you be?" the woman asked, opening the gate.

"Uhm… good afternoon, obaa-san!" Yui greeted. "We're friends of Anna. We're here to give her a birthday present. Is… Anna there?"

Kanzaki Toko, Anna's grandmother sounded rather amused, "You're Anna's friends? Why, come in! I never knew my granddaughter had friends at school… well, she's a really quiet girl, never shared anything to me since her mother… oh what am I saying? Please come in!"

"Thank you, obaa-san." Yui accepted the invite in behalf of Hiro and Keisuke and followed the old woman inside.

"Have a seat, please," said Toko, which the trio complied. "What do you want, coffee, tea, or lemon juice?"

"Coffee, Toko-baa!" came a girly voice from the doorway. Hiro turned his head, unable to believe his eyes, "Kanzaki-chan?"

* * *

Anna smiled, "Sakkun? Suzuki-chan and… pineapple head… (Keisuke: WHAT DO YOU CALL ME?) I was just about to mail you guys to come here! Well, since you're already here, you guys have to help me prepare the food, okay?"

"What in Kamen Rider's beard (Valtere: WHAT DID SHE SAY?) happened to you, Anna-chan?" squealed Yui in disbelief. It was a totally new Anna; way different than her gloomy, eccentric self, except those instances when she goes child-like while eating Milk Dipper's coffee-flavored ice cream. Even her sense of style changed; she now wore a cream blouse instead of the usual dark-colored blazer. She was holding what looked like a bag of groceries.

"Do I look…"

"No, you look lovely!" Yui said sharply. "That was just… unexpected from you. Right Hiro-kun?"

Hiro agreed. Keisuke, meanwhile, wasn't convinced, "No matter how she looks, she's still the same coffee addict, horror g – WAAARGH!" Hiro squeezed Keisuke's sides with his fingers.

Toko laughed, "Believe me, I too was surprised when my Anna-chan woke up in high spirits this morning." She took the groceries from Anna and brought them into the kitchen. "I guess that's because her –" The old Kanzaki noticed someone walking delicately down the stairs. "Oh, there he is."

* * *

"Onii-chan! I told you not to get out of your bed!" Anna rushed to help her brother step down.

"I heard people laughing. I don't wanna be left out in the party," said her brother.

"Onii-chan?" asked Yui, confused. She turned at the man; he was tall and lanky, like someone who had just recovered from a vegetative state. He had pale skin, contrasting Anna's darker complexion, but they had similarly-shaped eyes. A long scar was etched on his left cheek.

"Yeah! Well I did tell you that I haven't seen him for years…" answered Anna, as she aided her brother on his last step before the level ground. "…but he's back! Everyone, this is my brother, Kanzaki Joe! Onii-chan, these are my classmates that I've been talking to you about: Sakaguchi Hiro, Kagami Keisuke, and Suzuki Yui!"

Joe was stunned at the mention of Yui's name, as though he had lost all the remaining blood in his bony face. "Suzuki… Yui?"

"Is there something wrong, onii-chan?" asked Anna, returning Joe to his senses, "Uh… Yeah, I just thought… the name was familiar."

"Well Suzuki is quite a common name," explained Yui, sounding lady-like. Hiro felt a weird rumbling inside his stomach when he saw Yui eye interestingly at Joe. Gaunt as he was, no one can hide the fact that Joe was quite a handsome guy. Hiro reached out for the tattoo around his waist, and started to talk telepathically to Valtere, 'Tsk… _I don't like that Joe-san._'

_'Me neither kiddo,'_ Valtere talked in his head, _'I have a bad feeling about this dude.'_

_ 'What do you mean?'_

'_My instincts tell me – and me instincts never failed, you know that – he's an Aguima._'

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"

"Saka-dono?" Keisuke said, confounded at Hiro's sudden outburst. The latter turned his head to see everyone's faces at him. "I… uh… don't mind me. Just remembered something." He saw Anna take out her _Ten Signs that Sakaguchi Hiro had Gone Mad_ from her blouse's pocket. "Good thing I always have this," she giggled.

Joe glanced at the notebook, "What's that?"

Anna answered while writing something down, "Something I write just for fun."

Keisuke patted Yui's shoulder, "I told you she's the same Kanzaki-chan…"

* * *

_**Asakura Street – 6:04 p.m.**_

"Front Gate. No signs of Number 29." a SpecTRe agent in casual clothing relayed his message over a Bluetooth-enabled radio device.

"The windows?" replied a woman's voice.

"Too grainy. Can't see a thing," said the agent.

"Alright. Keep an eye out for anyone who'll come out of that house. Understand?" ordered Fujita, watching over the Kanzaki residence from a white sedan parked at the top of the winding road.

"Roger that," the agent resumed his post behind the hedges.

Fujita switched from the Bluetooth headset to her mobile phone, "Mori, what's the development on your side?"

A slightly garbled reply came out, "Negative. No signs of Number 29 in other hideouts."

"Then it leaves us to this house…" Fujita terminated the call and watched over the Kanzaki's in silence, except for occasional squeaks from the hanging Globulle in her windshield.

* * *

_**At the same time - Kanzaki Residence**_

"Otanjoubi Omedeto!" everyone said in chorus, followed by random applause and confetti. Yui, Keisuke, and Hiro each gave their present to Anna, who was teary-eyed because she felt she had just experienced the best birthday of her life.

"…I've got you guys, Toko-baa, and now Onii-chan's back… I couldn't ask for more. Arigatou Gozaimasu!" Anna bowed, finishing her little birthday speech. Another round of applause followed.

After that, they played charades, helped themselves with Toko-baa's delicious dishes, and talked until there was nothing to be talked about anymore. "…You wouldn't believe how onii-chan looked like when I found him yesterday at the hedge. He looked terrible…"

"… anyone care for coffee-flavored cake?"

"… at least I'm still good-looking…"

"Hai! Hai! Say cheese!"

"… a gun wound? What happened?"

"He wouldn't tell me, Yui-chan. But I guess it doesn't matter anyway…"

"… tell me about yourself, Yui…"

"… Okay, here goes another. Say cheese!"

"… how about coffee-flavored ice cream? Anyone?"

Hiro sat at the corner of the couch, annoyed because he felt so left out, and much more so because Yui looked absolutely interested with Anna's older brother. It also didn't help that he found out that Joe was an Aguima, at least Valtere said so.

"Anything wrong, Saka-dono?" asked Keisuke, as he prepared to take another shot using his DSLR.

"No, nothing," lied Hiro.

'_Here goes a second one, now…_' said Valtere from the Soul Binder. Hiro touched his waist and replied, '_Second one? You mean another Aguima? From where? What is this all about?_'

'_Trust me, I don't know, either. Keep an eye out for that Joe guy, and your girl too._'

'_I told she's not –_'

'_I know that, kiddo._'

Hiro continued observing Joe's behavior, until something happened.

* * *

"AAARGH!"

"What's happening, onii-chan?" asked Anna, looking very worried. Joe held the temple his head firmly like someone who was having a very terrible headache. He took a long, deep breath, and everything's back to normal. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

"You don't look fine to me, Joe-kun!" snapped Toko. "Anna-chan, take him to his room now so he can get a rest."

"I'm fine, really, obaa-chan!" assured Joe, even though his grim appearance told otherwise.

_'See that faint glow in his chest, kiddo?'_ said Valtere. Hiro gazed on Joe's chest; there was indeed a dim trace of three conjoined circles. _'He just prevented himself from transforming to his Aguima form,_' told Valtere.

_'You mean… he can't control it?'_ asked Hiro.

_'Looks like it, boy.'_

"Are you sure you're alright, Joe-san?" Yui said apprehensively.

Joe answered, "I'm sure! I'm – AAAARRRGH!" He felt his head ache again, this time much worse.

"Onii-chan, what's happening ? Onii-chan!" Anna shook her trembling brother. Toko rushed to the kitchen to get some water, while Yui and Keisuke helped Anna to calm Joe down.

"AAAAAAARGWAAAAH!" Joe wailed as he desperately rushed outside house, breaking a few glass figurines on his way. Anna tried to follow him, but Hiro stopped her. "Let me handle this."

"Sakkun…" muttered Anna. Hiro gave her a nod of assurance. "Don't worry, Kanzaki-chan."

"Everyone, stay inside alright?" shouted Hiro as he ran out of the open doorway. Keisuke scratched his head, "What is Saka-dono thinking?"

Yui, meanwhile, remembered the events at the Akizuki Apartelle a couple of days ago:

* * *

"_Yui-chan! Call the police!" Hiro bellowed and rushed inside the apartment building._

_ "Oi! Hiro-kun! Where are you going?" Yui cried, half-panicking as she started to dial 110 from her mobile phone. She heard Hiro say something after that, but it he was too distant now that she could no longer understand his words._

"Just when did Hiro start meddling with other people's problems?" Yui asked herself.

* * *

_**Asakura Street – 7:45 p.m.**_

"I hear someone," relayed the agent over his radio. He saw Joe come out of the white house in a hurry, his palms pressed against his throbbing head. The agent spoke, "Number 29 spotted."

Fujita disengaged from the car as soon as she received the confirmation. She broadcasted her command over the radio, "Prepare for capture." A series of "roger's" followed.

The agent on the hedge spoke again, "Another person coming out. I repeat, another person coming out!"

"What?" said Fujita. She saw a young guy rushing out of the Kanzaki's, chasing after Number 29. "Halt! Everyone, halt! Alpha team, follow them discreetly! Remember, you must not be noticed!"

* * *

"Kanzaki-san, wait!" shouted Hiro, slowing his steps a little or he'll roll down the steep road like a boulder. Joe yelled, "Who are you? Why are following me?"

"I needed to ask something!" Hiro yelled back.

"Are you a Pseudo-Aguima?"

"A Pseudo-Aguima?" Fujita heard Hiro's voice from her receiver. "How did that guy know…?"

Joe stopped and turned to the boy, "How did you…?"

'_Someone's coming!_' Valtere screamed inside Hiro's head. "What?"

Joe looked behind Hiro and found a woman's silhouette approaching from the shadows. "It's them…" He turned around and darted away as fast as he could.

"Kanzaki-san, wait!" Hiro shouted again, trailing behind Joe.

"You're one of them, don't you?" bellowed Joe, taking a sharp left turn towards Tendou Park.

"What do you mean?" said Hiro inquisitively.

"DON'T PLAY DUMB, YOU JERK! YOU WON'T TAKE ME BACK TO THAT CHAMBER! NEVER!"

Fujita, who was several meters behind, commanded, "Alpha Team, Beta Team, target's going to Tendou Park! Seize him and the boy AT ONCE!"

* * *

_**At the same time – SpecTRe: Sector B Test Labs**_

Ryuunosuke entered from the sliding metal doorway to one of SpecTRe's most productive reaserch laboratories: Sector B Test Labs. A vast array of LED monitors decorated the four walls of the reception area, each of which was connected to various CCTV cameras situated around the facility. At the top of the LED panels, the group's motto was written – **SpecTRe: Visionaries of the New World.**

At that time of the evening only a few researchers were left; one of those was Fujio Shingo, the person Ryuunosuke wanted to meet.

"Ah! Yamasaki-sama! I knew you'd come," greeted Fujio, adjusting his thick eyeglasses. "This way, please."

"Thanks," Ryuunosuke followed Fujio to the corridor. The doctor spoke as he opened the door to his office, "Come to investigate about Number 29's escape?"

"Certainly," said Taguchi's half-brother and right-hand man, "But I'm not here to inquire about what conspired that morning."

Fujio offered Ryuunosuke a seat, while he took the swivel chair behind his desk, "What is it that you want to ask, then?"

Ryuunosuke took his own seat and resumed talking, "You've been with SpecTRe ever since Number 29 was brought in here. Tell me, what's so special with this guy that my brother wanted him back so desperately?"

Fujio was surprised, "Why, didn't the president told you that already?"

"No, he didn't," Ryuunosuke hated to admit it, especially when he was under the impression that the doctor was making fun of his ignorance on the matter. "He was too bothered to share it with me."

"Figures," said Fujio. "I bet he still regrets that day…"

"Day? What day?" Ryuunosuke asked quickly.

"Well…" Fujio was holding back his words on purpose, enjoying the guy's craving for information, "you see… Number 29 is living memory… to what Taguchi-sama did on that day…"

"What did onii-chan do? What day are you talking about?" Ryuunosuke's head went nearer.

Fujio flashed a dog-like grin, "That day... when he did an irreversible… regrettable act…"

* * *

_**Tendou Park – 7:53 p.m.**_

"What chamber? Who are those guys? Why are they after you?" Hiro asked, jumping over a sandbox toward a children's playground.

"I SAID DON'T F*** WITH ME!" Joe took a halt beside a penguin-shaped slide and howled. A blinding light burst from inside his body, and when it dwindled, the Kanzaki brother was already in his Aguima form: a bipedal, wolf-like monster with silvery-white fur, sharp and deadly fangs and clawed paws. A symbol common to Pseudo-Aguimas was glowing brightly on his chest.

Hiro stepped away from the Vargulf* Aguima, "No, you misunderstand. I'm not part of –"

"FWAAAH!" The Vargulf opened its jaws and charged toward Hiro. He would've been caught by the snap of the wolf monster's fangs if not for Valtere switching out just in time. H-Valtere rolled to one side as Hiro's ghost was spewed out of the Soul Binder.

"Thanks!" said Hiro, gliding a few feet away from H-Valtere and the Vargulf.

"Anytime, boy!" H-Valtere thumbed-up and ducked, just as the Vargulf leapt over him.

"You've been quite an annoying guy, wolfy! Now it's time to tame the dog!" H-Valtere raised his fingers, wrote inscriptions in the air which travelled to his waist, materializing into a belt. He bellowed, "HEN…"

The Vargulf leapt again before he could finish the transformation sequence, its paws barely hitting Hiro's chest. H-Valtere lurched and tumbled to the ground, "Oi Wolfy I'm not finished yet!"

"FWAAAOOOOH!" the wolf-like Aguima howled again and blew its hot, canine breath against H-Valtere's face. "Stop! Stop that, that's DISGUSTING!"

The Vargulf bounded forward, ready to tackle again. It dived to an unarmed, untransformed H-Valtere.

Hiro shrieked, "VALTERE!"

And then…

* * *

**"PANG! PANG! PANG!"** three consecutive, earsplitting gunshots echoed over the playground. One of the bullets hit the Vargulf, causing it to back off from H-Valtere and whine in pain.

Hiro surveyed the area to determine the source of the shot. He saw six men; three were wearing black coats, while the other three wore normal shirts. Behind them stood a full-bodied woman, her gun pointing at the Vargulf's direction.

Fujita said loudly, "We've come to take you back, Kanzaki-san."

* * *

_To be continued in_ **Episode 12: The Werewolf's Desperate Cry! Irreversible Acts! (Part 2)

* * *

**

_A/N: That's it, Episode 11, done!I don't know but I thought it didn't flow quite smoothly... anyway, if you guys have any comment, you know the drill: HIT THE REVIEW BUTTON. Oh, and because this sub-arc turned out longer than it was supposed to be, the debut of the new rider will be moved to Episode 13. ;)_

_Just a bit of a trivia: these episodes were indirect homage to the original Kanzaki siblings (Yui and Shiro) of Kamen Rider Ryuki. Even Anna's house is patterned to that café in Ryuki (plus the grandma too :P)._

_New Aguima Type: _**Vargulf**_ – a werewolf-based kaijin. Human form: _**Kanzaki Joe**_ (SpecTRe Specimen Number 29)_


	12. Episode 12: Werewolf's Desperate Cry 2!

_**Disclaimers and Warnings: **__I do not own the Kamen Rider franchise, not a single bit of it. The next battles with the Vargulf Aguima are a little violent, just to warn the kids. Then again, if you guys are already used to the mild violence found in most shonen animes, then I guess you won't find any trouble reading.

* * *

_

_**Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere:**_

_Kanzaki Anna's long-time wish finally came true when the brother she had not seen for many years suddenly returned to their house, a day before her 17__th__ birthday. Together with her friends Hiro, Yui, Keisuke, her grandmother Toko, and her older brother Joe, she celebrated what could have been the best birthday of her life. Things were going quite well, until…_

"AAAAAAARGWAAAAH!" wailed Joe as he scampered outside the house, breaking a few glass figurines along the way. Anna tried to follow him but Hiro took her arms and stopped her. "Let me handle this, Kanzaki-chan."

"Sakkun…?" muttered Anna. Hiro gave her a nod of assurance, "Don't worry."

"Everyone stay inside, alright?" shouted Hiro as he ran to the open doorway, leaving Yui and Keisuke confused.

"Just when did Hiro-kun start meddling with other people's problems?" Yui asked herself.

_Actually, Kanzaki Joe was a Pseudo-Aguima, dubbed "Specimen Number 29" by the researchers of SpecTRe. Somehow he managed to get his way out of the heavily guarded facility, causing SpecTRe President Taguchi Yusuke to burst into outrage and demand the immediate capture of the escapee. He ordered Fujita Masako, his left-hand assistant, and Mori Takashi, the head of SpecTRe's security department to search for Joe; while in order to clear his suspicion that the incident was premeditated by someone inside the organization, he requested his brother Yamasaki Ryuunosuke to investigate. For starters, Ryuunosuke paid a visit to the doctor on duty when the breakout happened, Dr. Fujio Shingo of the B-Test Labs._

"You've been with SpecTRe ever since Number 29 was brought in here. Tell me, what's so special with this guy that my brother wanted him back so desperately?"

"Well…" Fujio held back his words purposely, enjoying the sight of Ryuu craving for information, "You see… Number 29 is living memory… to what Taguchi-sama did on that day…"

"What day? What did onii-chan do?" Ryuunosuke's head moved forward.

Fujio grinned, almost dog-like, "An irreversible… regrettable act…"

_Bringing in two squads, Fujita surveyed the house of the Kanzakis, thinking that it was the place Joe would most likely go. She proved herself right when she saw the subject run out of that house and into the direction of Tendou Park, while Hiro chased after him. Picking up the two boys' conversation in her wireless receiver, she heard something interesting:_

"_I needed to ask something Kanzaki-san! Are you a Pseudo-Aguima?"_

"_How did you…?"_

Fujita was taken aback, unsure if she heard the words right. "A _Pseudo-Aguima_ he said? But how did that guy know…?"

* * *

_**Wednesday – Tendou Park – 7:53 p.m. (21 days before new moon)**_

"What chamber? Who are those guys? Why are they after you?" Hiro asked, jumping over a sandbox towards a children's playground.

"I SAID DON'T F*** WITH ME!" Joe took a halt beside a penguin-shaped slide and howled. A blinding light burst from inside his body, and when it dwindled, the Kanzaki brother was already in his Aguima form: a bipedal, wolf-like monster with silvery-white fur, sharp and deadly fangs and claws. A symbol common to Pseudo-Aguimas was glowing on his hairy chest.

Hiro stepped away from the Vargulf Aguima, "No, you misunderstand. I'm not part of –"

"FWAAAH!" The Vargulf opened its jaws and charged toward Hiro, who would've been caught by the snap of the wolf monster's fangs if Valtere did not switch out just in time. H-Valtere rolled to one side while Hiro's spirit was released from his own body via the Soul Binder.

"Thanks!" said Hiro's ghost, gliding a few feet away from H-Valtere and the Vargulf.

"Anytime, boy!" H-Valtere thumbed-up and ducked, just as the Vargulf leapt over him. "You're quite an annoying guy, you know that, wolfy? Want some dog-tamin'?"

He raised his fingers, wrote magical inscriptions in the air which then travelled around his waist, materializing into a belt. He bellowed, "HEN…"

However, before he could finish the transformation sequence, the Vargulf leapt over him again, its paws barely hitting his chest. H-Valtere lurched and tumbled, "Oi Wolfy, I'm not finished yet!"

"FWAAAOOOOH!" the Vargulf bounded forward and dived to an unarmed, untransformed H-Valtere. Hiro shrieked. And then…

**PANG! PANG! PANG!** Three consecutive gunshots echoed over the park. One of the bullets hit the Vargulf's side, causing it to back off from H-Valtere and whine in pain.

Hiro gazed around to determine the source of the shot. He saw six men; three were wearing black coats, while the other three wore normal shirts. Behind them was a full-bodied woman; her still smoking pistol was pointing towards the Vargulf.

Fujita said loudly, "We've come to take you back, Kanzaki-san!"

* * *

**Episode 12: The Werewolf's Desperate Cry! Irreversible Acts! (Part 2)

* * *

**

"Grrrrr…." The Vargulf growled, gritting its inch-long teeth in anger. Fresh and warm blood was dripping from its left forelimb. Fujita moved, careful to keep her gun pointing at the Vargulf. "Now, if you will just go with us peacefully…"

"FWAAAOOOOOH!" the wolf-like monster howled wildly as it skidded to attack Fujita. The woman fired another shot, but the bullet missed. She ordered her subordinates, "Prepare to fire!"

One agent in a black coat who covered Fujita reached for his gun, but too late – the wolf leapt and fastened its jaws around his arm. The agent screeched in pain as he felt the wolf's fangs bury within his tissues.

"Makoto!" cried another agent. He took out his own gun and prepared to pull the trigger to save his comrade, but before he could even fire, the Vargulf turned around and used Agent Makoto as its shield. Makoto winced as the Vargulf's teeth started to tear a chunk of muscle off his arm.

Other agents surrounded the monster, also aiming their guns. Fujita spoke uncertainly, "Drop him off, Kanzaki-san. Nothing good will happen if you continue to resist!"

"It's certainly not good… but for whom? Wolfy, or Ms. Sexy?" snided H-Valtere, sitting sluggishly on the spot where the Vargulf dived onto him earlier.

Hiro's ghost slithered toward his body. "_What the hell are you doing Valtere? Why are you not helping–_"

"Who am I gonna help, boy?" snapped H-Valtere. "If you haven't noticed, they're on the same side..."

H-Valtere's voice made Fujita remember that there was someone other than her group and the Vargulf in the vicinity. Her pistol still pointing defensively to the wolf, she turned her head to him and noticed the old-looking belt around his waist. She asked, "You there! How did you know about the Pseudo-Aguima?"

"Care to give me a good reason why I should answer you, Miss Sexy?" winked H-Valtere, standing up and shaking the dirt off his uniform. He surveyed Fujita from head to toe, poring over the curves of her cat suit, and whistled naughtily. Feeling scandalized because it was as though he himself did that perverted gesture, Hiro yelled, "_Stop that, yarou!_"

"Then how about…" Fujita transferred the gun to her left hand and aimed it to H-Valtere, "_this? _Is this good reason enough?"

Finding this as a perfect opportunity, the Vargulf let go of his teeth from Agent Makoto's arms and threw him away like a ragdoll. Two agents in casual shirts tried to catch the plummeting comrade, but the impact rendered all three of them unconscious. The wolf monster made a forceful, enormous leap and hit Fujita; making her keel backward and lose her grip on her pistol. The three remaining agents fired at the Vargulf, which dodged off the side and sprang back to them, slashing the agents' faces using its sharp paws. Fujita, trying to stand up, groped for her gun.

"I believe this is yours, Miss Sexy," spoke H-Valtere, spinning the glock with his index finger.

"Give it back!" bellowed Fujita. She got up to her feet as quick as she could and tried to seize the gun from H-Valtere, but –

Like a boulder, the Vargulf heaved one of the agents to Fujita and H-Valtere. They dodged to opposite directions, while the unlucky agent's body crashed on a see-saw. H-Valtere shouted, "Careful right there, Wolfy!"

_'Tsk... I didn't know he was that strong,'_ Fujita thought, gazing around only to discover that all of her subordinates were now knocked down. _'Should I retreat for now? But Taguchi-sama's…'_

There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Fujita turned to see the Vargulf galloping toward H-Valtere. The latter seized the wolf about the neck and tried to push the angry jaws away from him. Drawing all the strength he could extract from his untransformed body, H-Valtere hauled the Vargulf up and threw him to the ground in a heap. "You want to fight me that badly, eh? Then let's go for it!"

H-Valtere put his right foot forward and squatted, his fists clenched like a boxer's. "HEN…"

"COME FORTH!" came Fujita's thundering voice.

"SH – NOW WHAT?" H-Valtere stomped, terribly goaded because his henshin call was interrupted again. Turning his head to Fujita, he saw something like a tennis ball that zoomed straight into the woman's hands. She placed the ball near her mouth, blew air into it and beckoned, "Show your true form… Globulle!"

Fujita tossed the furry ball upward. Instead of falling back down, the ball stopped in midair and emitted loud, pumping noises. With every pump, the ball went larger and larger until it became as big as a tree. A flash of white light emanated from the ball, blinding H-Valtere and the Vargulf for a moment. When his eyes were accustomed again to the darkness of the park, H-Valtere saw the furry ball turn into a large, semitransparent orb with a glowing yellow 'heart' inside. It had no eyes, ears, or anything, but looking closely, H-Valtere noticed that it had a large, stretchable gash for a mouth.

"What was that thing?" Hiro's ghost gasped.

Fujita shouted, "Now, go! SWALLOW the wolf!"

The Globulle opened its 'mouth' wide and made a rumbling noise, which Hiro thought was the monster's way of acknowledging Fujita's command. It bounced its way to the Vargulf, ready to devour the latter and imprison him inside its viscous body. Instead of running away, the wolf dived straight to the Globulle, tearing off a large slab of yellow jelly from its side by slashing it repeatedly. It then leapt away to avoid the giant orb's opening mouth.

"You can't harm it by that, Kanzaki-san!" laughed Fujita. The part that was torn off the giant orb's body adhered back like reforming clay. The Globulle then churned out an acidic substance which barely hit the Vargulf's head; fortunately for the wolf, because that part of the penguin-shaped slide where the acid was spewed on corroded immediately.

"Hey, what are we gonna do now, Valtere?" asked Hiro in a corner.

"BAH! Isn't it obvious? We'll wait who wins between Wolfy and the Big Flabby!" said H-Valtere.

"But…" Hiro examined the Vargulf; it certainly wasn't looking well. It already lost a lot of blood from its bullet wounds.

The Globulle lifted its own weight in the air and slammed to where the Vargulf was, pinning the wolf. The orb bounced away, leaving the Vargulf in a heap and with broken ribs. Another stream of acid flowed from the Globulle's mouth, which hit the wolf squarely. It howled in pain, "FWAAAOOOOH!"

"No…" The burnt skin, fallen hair, the bloody puddle, the limp body… the sight was more than Hiro could bear. At the edge of his mind, the image of Anna's pleading face haunted him. He had told her not to worry and that he'd handle it, but what did he do? He let her brother be punished like that… just when they were finally reunited…

"Valtere…" Hiro whispered.

"What?" H-Valtere asked.

"Kanzaki-san… help him."

"Oi, oi! Do you know what you're saying, kiddo? You want me to help a Pseudo-Aguima?"

"Onegai!" Hiro pleaded. He looked intently at H-Valtere, showing that he was, indeed, serious.

H-Valtere turned awkwardly away from Hiro's gaze. "Hmm… Alright, alright! I wanna try slashing up that jelly ball anyway…"

Hiro smiled, "Thanks, aibou."

H-Valtere scratched his head, shuddering. "Uh. Don't mention it."

Fujita stepped forward to get a clear look of the Vargulf. "Now you know what happens if you continue to resist, Kanzaki-san. Now Globulle, grab him up."

The Globulle growled and opened its mouth. As it was about to gobble the Vargulf up, someone shouted, "WAIT A SEC, FLABBY!"

The orb stopped just as Fujita turned to face H-Valtere, "What do you want, boy?"

He snorted, "You're calling me 'boy?' Do you even realize how old I am?"

The woman snubbed him, "We'll get to you later. Globulle, do it now."

"I SAID STOP, YOU FLAB!" H-Valtere darted and gave the giant orb a flying kick. It didn't hurt the monster, but it was enough to capture its attention.

"Stop interfering with us, boy!" Fujita yelled. "Or do you want to be gobbled first?"

"Option number two, please!" said H-Valtere playfully when he landed. "That is, if flabby could do that…"

He squatted and did his henshin pose again. "HEN…"

Fujita said, "You want it, then you got it. Globulle, give that teenage boy some punishing!"

Following the woman's orders, the giant orb bounced to pin down H-Valtere. "SH – WILL YOU PLEASE LET ME FINISH MY HENSHIN CALL FIRST?" He said loudly as he rolled to avoid the crash. Hiro's ghost sneered, "Why do you even have to do that freaky pose in the first place?"

"It's important, boy!" defended H-Valtere, as he evaded another acid blast. "It just doesn't feel complete if I don't do that!"

"Then… don't you have a shortcut or something?"

"But it doesn't feel right, kiddo!"

"Oh, come on…" Hiro sighed.

Fujita noticed this. "Are you getting scared now that you're now talking to yourself?" she ridiculed.

"Wrong, Miss Sexy!" answered H-Valtere, as he dodged another Globulle body slam. "I'm talking to a ghost!"

The Globulle's yellow heart shined brightly like a small sun. It contracted, as if it was preparing for a mjaor outburst. Hiro shouted, "Now your chance! Valtere!"

H-Valtere did his pose again, "Hen…"

Like an erupting volcano, the Globulle blasted out a large volume of acid up in the air. Hiro bellowed, "No more poses! Just say it already!"

H-Valtere replied frustratingly, "ALRIGHT! HENSHIN!"

* * *

_**Sonoda Main Road – 8:28 p.m.**_

"To think that you'd go without confirmation from the local police at the area… that's so unusual of you, Serge-kun," Detective Sakurai Kazumi chuckled, as she and her partner Ito Sergio drove along the Main Road to respond to a 'strange incident' currently happening at the Tendou Park.

"Gunshots, weak earthquakes, and strange howls – looks very 'Indefinable' to me," Detective Ito explained, in a very manly way. "Besides, isn't it you who told me that today, nothing is impossible?"

Sakurai laughed heartier this time. "So you're finally calling them 'Indefinables,' huh?"

"HQ's calling them that; I've got no choice but to follow," answered Ito, slightly annoyed because he thought his partner was making fun of him.

"Okay… you said so…" said Sakurai, in a slightly misty tone. She turned to enjoy the sight from her side window, as Ito shifted the clutch control and sped off.

* * *

_**At the same time – Kanzaki Residence**_

Anna sat on one portion of the settee, almost dumbfounded. Toko gave her a glass of water to calm her down. Yui sat beside Anna, trying to ease her friend's anxiety. Keisuke, meanwhile, was looking outside from the doorway.

"What do you suppose that was?" asked Keisuke, pertaining to the gunshots and the scary howls that they heard, which were followed by minor shakings of the ground.

"I don't know. I hope Hiro-kun and Kanzaki-san were alright," answered Yui, mildly patting Anna's back.

Keisuke paced around the room several times, and then stopped. "I'll go look for them."

"No!" snapped Yui. "Didn't Hiro-kun say that we should remain in here?"

"That's exactly what I'm worried about, Suzuki-chan! Why would Saka-dono go after Kanzaki-san like that? I mean, they don't even know each other that much!" said Keisuke apprehensively.

"I don't know! Whatever his reason is, I think we should trust him," replied Yui. Now that she mentioned it, she realized that ever since they were kids, she had always trusted Hiro.

Keisuke argued for several more minutes until Yui finally convinced him to stay inside.

* * *

_**At the same time – Tendou Park**_

The Soul Circle appeared in mid-air to protect H-Valtere from the acid rain as his body was slowly being plated with purple armor. There was a fast swish; the Soul Circle disappeared, revealing Valtere's Illusori form.

"You…?" Fujita couldn't believe her eyes. Even the Globulle stopped to witness the amazing transformation. The scorpion sting crown, the red eyepieces, the bat wing breastplate, and the scaled armor suit – Fujita muttered, "You are…?"

"You're asking me who I am, Miss Sexy? Then I'll tell you who I am! My name's Valtere, no… Kamen Rider Valtere!" Valtere gave a slick pose reminiscent of that actor from the famous drama 'Adventures of the Hard-boiled Detective.'

"Kamen Rider… Valtere?" Fujita said, quite speechless. '_So that explains it – why he knew about us Pseudo-Aguimas. This boy was the Kamen Rider…_'

Valtere spoke, most fashionably, "Now, let's count up your s –"

Hiro retorted, "Oi! Stop acting like Shotaro-tantei!"

"Oh. Yeah…" said Valtere, going back to his senses. "Well, flabby, LET'S GET IT ON!"

Still grasping the knowledge of the Kamen Rider's identity, Fujita bellowed, "Globulle, charge!"

The Globulle roared again and spewed acids; Valtere cartwheeled as he avoided every discharge. He rotated the dials on his belt, until a female voice spoke from it, "**ECRAND.**" Swinging out the javelin that emerged from the Soul Binder, he went on to strike the Globulle. As expected, the Globulle's jelly-like body merely absorbed the impact of the attack.

"Even if you are the Kamen Rider, you can't harm my Globulle!" Fujita said loudly.

"Oh yeah?" said Valtere. He turned the dials again, until the voice spoke: "**RAZU.**"

"Let's see if Big Flabby can handle this! **TWISTED LANCE!**" He spun in position, his speed increasing with every spin. When he became as fast as a top, he bounded forward and went near the monster, scraping the orb's surface continuously. He eventually stopped, leaving the Globulle in an overly deformed shape. Valtere poked the monster, "Look at you! You're like a badly molded gummy ball now!"

Fujita laughed, "Is that so? Then behold, Kamen Rider-san, how it reforms itself!"

There was another pumping noise; the Globulle's heart glowed as it started to regenerate. In a matter of seconds, the orb is back in its normal, spherical shape. Valtere staggered, "Woah…"

Hiro's ghost glided behind Valtere. "Try to hit that yellow thing inside him!"

The Illusori answered, still half-amazed, "Uh, right. Let's try that."

Valtere resumed his stance and charged. With one powerful strike, he pierced the side of the Globulle using its javelin. He tried to insert his weapon further inside, but the transparent mass surrounding the orb's heart was too tough. The Globulle growled and opened its mouth, trying to eat Valtere whole.

"Not so fast, Flabby!" the Illusori tried to pull his weapon so he could back off, but he couldn't take it out. "OI, DON'T GET STUCK IN THERE, YOU USELESS ECRAND!"

Valtere struggled as he desperately tried to pull the javelin. The gash along the Globulle's skin was becoming larger, ready to swallow him up.

"No… Valtere! Get out of there now!" Hiro shouted.

"But my Ecrand..." responded Valtere, still trying hard to take his weapon out.

"Never mind that, just – NO! VALTERE!" Hiro's eyes widened – the Globulle had already gobbled the Illusori. Inside the orb's body, violent smoke oozed from his armor as the acidic pool started to dissolve it. "VALTERE!"

"Seems like I hit two birds with one stone tonight: first, Kanzaki-san; and then, the Kamen Rider." Fujita looked around, feeling a little remorseful to her down subordinates. "If only I used my Globulle sooner, this would've happened to all of you. Gomennasai…"

* * *

_**At the same time – SpecTRe: Sector B Test Labs**_

"Do you understand now, Yamasaki-sama?" whispered Dr. Fujio, his eyes piercing Ryuu's like a cold-blooded murderer.

Ryuunosuke closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, I don't believe it!"

"I don't blame you," Fujio stood up and reached for the teacup placed on his recess table. "It was too unbelievable to start with… but it's true..."

"I… uh… I- I guess I had enough for today," said Ryuu, trembling. "G-good night, Dr. Fujio."

"Good night too, Yamasaki-sama," answered Fujio, while his eyes followed Ryuunosuke's departure from his office. In his head he spoke, '_Poor Yamasaki-sama... betrayed by the person he trusted the most. Well, that'll make things harder for Taguchi from now on… Oh how I love this job! Thanks, Maiden-sama!_'

_**(To be continued)

* * *

**_

Next time: What will happen to Valtere and Kanzaki now? What did Dr. Fujio say to Ryuunosuke, and how will the latter respond about it?

Stay tuned for **Episode 13: Scary Apparitions! A Change of Plans!

* * *

**

_A/N: That's it! Episode 12, done! It took a little longer than my usual release, because I've been really busy these past days (and I'll be much busier for the next two months as my licensure exams are coming up T_T). Anyway, you may have noticed the KR Double references throughout this episode, e.g. Hiro saying "Aibou," Valtere acting like Shotaro, and all that; yeah this episode is sorta like a tribute to Kamen Rider Double and its AWESOME ending, which I consider the best among the Heisei Rider shows so far. ^^,_

_Next up: more surprises, major plot developments, and a new rider arrive! Will he be an ally, an enemy, or just someone to stir things up? Stay tuned!_


	13. Episode 13: Scary Apparitions!

_**Previously on Kamen Rider Valtere:**_

Valtere struggled as he desperately tried to pull the javelin out from the Globulle's body. The gash along the giant orb's skin was getting larger, ready to swallow the Illusori up.

"Valtere! Get out of there!" Hiro shouted.

"But my Ecrand…"

"Never mind that, just – NO! VALTERE!"

Hiro's eyes widened – the Globulle had already gobbled Valtere. From the orb's transparent skin, he saw Valtere's armor slowly being dissolved by the monster's insides.

* * *

**Episode 13: Scary Apparitions! A Change of Plans!

* * *

**

_**Wednesday – Tendou Park – 8:37 p.m. (21 days before new moon)**_

The orb suddenly flushed a deep red. Fujita noticed that the glow didn't come from the orb's heart but rather from –

"**Burrrrrrning!**" announced a breathy voice from the Soul Binder belt, right after Valtere had inserted the red Soul Buffer disc. His body burst into violent flames. The outlines of his armor turned bloody red, his breastplate and cape turned a purplish-orange gradient while his eyepiece turned yellow-orange like the color of the sun. Solar flare-like edges materialized on both pads of his upper and lower limbs. A surge of blazing aura emanated from Valtere which melted and ruptured the Globulle.

Valtere quickly jumped out of the Globulle's 'stomach' as soon as there was enough opening. Hiro's ghost approached him, "Thought you'd die back there!"

"I'm already _dead_, boy. If this body dies, then _you_ die," said Valtere elaborately. Hiro shuddered at the realization, "Oi, don't scare me like that!"

Fujita watched the Kamen Rider apprehensively from afar, half-amazed and half-furious at the sudden turnaround of events. She turned to the Globulle; it was regenerating slower than usual. Was it running out of energy? Or was it because the explosion made by the Kamen Rider was too destructive?

"Yosh, time to finish this!" Valtere resumed his fighting stance before the Globulle.

"How 'bout your lance?" Hiro pointed out.

"Uh, right," Valtere said, as he went to pick up the javelin released from the orb after that explosive power-up. "Now to give it some buffing…"

He swiveled the dials of the Soul Binder ("**Inferrrrrrnal…**"). A stream of fire erupted from the belt, guided by what seemed like a dragon's head. It travelled in the air, coiled around Valtere's javelin and collided with it, transforming into the Infernal Halberd.

Having completely reformed, the Globulle fired another round of acid blasts. Now in his Burning Soul form, Valtere swung his halberd then and there to shield from the approaching acid balls. While his right hand was swerving, he rotated his belt's dials with his left hand till the voice spoke: "**SSSSSpitfire!**"

Appearing on the pavement, the Soul Circle gated a gang of fireballs from the ground. Hiro's was surprised when he noticed that the fireballs actually had faces – worse, they could talk. _"Ikuze, ikuze!"_

"Alright flabby," said Valtere, as one fireball enthusiastically positioned itself beside the halberd's broad axe. "TAKE THIS!"

Using his weapon, Valtere launched the hinotama away as though he was hitting a baseball. More fireballs lined up before the "bat," eager to be thrown away. Valtere shouted as he made every strike, "There! There! Here's another one! Yosha!"

"_Kyaaa!_" squeaked the fireballs as they lunged themselves to meet the Globulle's blasts, immediately exploding with every successful collision. The exchange of shots ensued until the Globulle eventually ran out of acids to spurt.

"Now, for the FINAL WAVE!" shouted Valtere. A fireball ten times bigger than the fist-sized ones earlier emerged from the Soul Circle. Valtere made a roundhouse swing and launched the gigantic hinotama with his full force.

"Nooooo!" Fujita witnessed the fireball crash against the Globulle like a meteor. The orb exploded; small chunks of jelly splattered all around. Hiro ducked and covered himself from the slimy rain, not realizing that he couldn't be affected because he was in ghost form.

But it's not over yet. The Globulle's heart – the solid, beating core – was still intact, trying to recuperate. Wasting no time, Valtere hurtled and dived straight to it. "**VICIOUS LANCE!**"

He swung the burning halberd and hit the core – one, two, three… ten… twenty, twenty-one fast slashes – until it started to break open. By the twenty-second strike, the heart finally shattered, followed by another explosion.

Fujita knelt down in shock, "No!"

* * *

_**Odagiri Ridgeway – 8:46 p.m.**_

It was dark and scary indeed, but Mori Takashi had no choice but to traverse along Odagiri Ridgeway to get back into the Main Road. Hours ago, Fujita Masako instructed him to search out for Number 29 on the vast landscape of Tachibana hills, where the old, abandoned, rural house of the Kanzakis could be found. If given a chance, he would've refused to follow this order; not because he was scared (hearing those village elders' stories about the 'Reaper on the Ridgeway' was certainly not helping), but because it really was difficult and dangerous to travel around here at nighttime.

Okay, scratch that – the fear was starting to get into him now. He felt the chilling wind brush against his head and skin, even though he wore a helmet and a thick jacket. He pressed his right foot hard on the motorcycle pedal, hoping that the rumbles would overcome the pitchy, creepy voices produced by the swaying leaves and by his own imagination. At 43, he had never been afraid like this – he didn't become head of SpecTRe's security department if he was such an easily scared cat.

Mori kept his sight focused on the road ahead. He did not dare look at the thick bushes to his left. Moreover, because there was a lack of road signs on that part of the murky trail, he could not afford to make a wrong swerve or else he'll dive straight down the pit to his right.

There was a sudden flash from the sky, and then it roared. The wind blew fiercely, shaking the bushes and trees. Any moment now, torrents of rain would sheet down unto him. Mori pressed hard on the pedal again and sped off; he must get back to the Main Road before the rain totally pours down.

He reached a sharp curve. Another flash, followed by a louder growl of thunder rolled over the hills. Mori veered the handle, turning the bike leftward. And then…

… **something the size of a human slithered from the trees and went across Mori's path!**

It all happened so fast. Mori let out a manly scream as he lost control of his bike and skidded sideways. With quick reflexes he rolled away from the motorcycle as the latter spun, eventually stopping halfway between the ridge and the pit.

He quickly got up and brushed the soil that adhered on his jacket. Mori's former military experience surely paid off because he managed to get away from that accident without any serious damage. He looked around reluctantly; surely he saw someone ran past him earlier but he wasn't even sure if that was a human. Come to think of it, no human in his right state of mind would stroll along the ridgeway at this time of the night.

"Who's there?" Mori asked loudly. There was no reply, apart from the sound of the brushing leaves. Mustering all the courage inside him, he shouted, "Is someone there?"

The loud, exploding thunder answered him this time. Mori cowered down in surprise. When the sky calmed again he got up, though staggering. His eyes shifted on the weird, creepy shadows created by the bushes under the dim, crescent moon. He swore he saw a pair of glinting eyes for a moment there.

"COME OUT HERE! I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!" yelled Mori – but his gestures told otherwise.

He took out the pistol from his jacket and stepped back. He heard his own boots crush a twig on the ground, which made him jump again. The first trickle of rain reached the top of his helmet and; within seconds, he became totally soaked under the raging thunderstorm.

Mori maintained his stance for a few more minutes under the heavy rain, until he was finally convinced that there was no one around. He stowed the gun back into his jacket and turned around…

… **to see a tall, grim figure standing behind him!**

"GWAAAAAAAAAH!" shrieked Mori, accompanied by another dramatic rumble, as though the gods of the sky were putting him in some sort of a horror movie experience. Falling down in terror, he took out his gun and fired indiscriminately to the cloaked figure, but it seemed like the bullets were just piercing through thin air. Until the last bullet, the cloaked guy remained motionless.

"W-who are y-you? W-what d-do you w-want?" asked Mori, sprawled over the muddy soil and trembling. He wanted to run away, but the combined chill produced by the terrifying figure and the cold, blowing gale rendered him frozen on the spot.

"You," the hooded, levitating figure glided before Mori and raised the latter's chin. Mori noticed that the former's hand was glowing cyan, and if weren't for his helmet his chin would've been wounded by the sharp nails pressing against it. He couldn't make out a face under that hood except for a pair of red, bug-like eyes; while the rest of it was bright cyan. _Was this the Ridgeway Reaper the Tachibana elders were talking about?_ He thought, shivering.

The creature spoke, in a peculiar voice that could be a man's or a woman's, "You're… an Aguima, aren't you?"

With these words, Mori seemed to get back to his senses. No one, not even the Ridgeway Reaper perhaps, knows about them Aguimas. Blood flowed back to his pale face as he replied, "How did you know…?"

The cloaked figure's reddish eyepieces burned more than ever. It fiercely took away its hands from Mori's chin, as though it had touched something filthy. "You scum! Go on, and show your Aguima form to me! Show me the extent of your soul's corruption!"

"What are you talking about?" muttered Mori. All the fear he felt earlier had drained out already, having the impression that the creature in front of him was also a product of SpecTRe. He stood up from the mud and looked directly at the cloaked guy. He repeated his question louder, "I'm asking you! How did you know about the Aguima?"

The latter slithered a few blocks away and replied shrilly, "I'll tell you after you transform."

Mori hesitated for a moment, but he realized that nothing will be lost if he did that. Besides, the one who asked him to transform was not a normal human in the first place. He took a deep breath, soothed his mind and body until all he can feel and hear was the rainshower. He felt his tissues contract and harden like a rock. This was it, he was morphing now…

A blinding flash, and when it subsided, the Galmi* Aguima was standing where Mori Takashi should have been.

Unlike the previous ones such as the Khentor and the Geottan, the Galmi was more like a half-naked muscleman, except that its whole body was completely made of iron and stone. There were gold strips around his neck, wrists and ankles, and the signature mark of the Pseudo-Aguima (three conjoined circles) was etched on its chest.

Without ado, the cloaked figure flew straight to the Galmi, brandishing what seemed like a twin-bladed scythe. The Galmi hastily blocked the attack with his rocky arm, "What's the meaning of this?"

The tall creature answered while his scythe was still pressing against the Galmi's arm, "You asked why I knew about Aguimas like you, am I right? Well, here's my answer…"

Leaning forward, it said, "I was specifically revived… to DESTROY AGUIMAS!"

A loud thunder rolled over the hills again, in yet another dramatic moment.

* * *

_**At the same time – Tendou Park**_

"What happened here?" gasped Detective Sakurai. The female police officer covered her mouth with her hands in shock.

"Would you mind explaining this to us, Yukio-san?" asked Detective Ito Sergio sharply. The local police patroller, a scrawny, long-faced officer named Yukio cowered before the inspector. "I-I heard g-gunshots… and then a FWAAAAAAAOOOOOOO! And then there was a RAWRARARARA! And t-then… the earthq-quake! Oh, it was too scary, keiji-san!"

Ito continued his dour interrogation, "And you didn't dare find out what's really happening? You're a policeman for crying out loud!"

"Serge!" snapped Sakurai. "Enough. If I were in his position I also wouldn't know what to do."

"Kazumi…" muttered Ito. He looked at his partner's eyes and for once, he saw anxiousness enveloping Sakurai's thoughts. She was the bravest female officer he had ever known, and for her to be scared like that was really something.

Sakurai spoke again while her eyes surveyed the playground, "The Horseman, the Kamen Rider, the Bearman, and now this. Serge, I'm afraid were dealing with something unknown… something beyond what we can grasp."

Ito did not say anything, but he somehow understood what his partner meant. He followed where Sakurai's eyes were focused; some yellow slimes spread over the park, as though a truckload of marmalade had spilt on it. The surfaces of monkey bars, slides, see-saws, swings, and all others had withered. Six men lay down on the ground; whether they were still alive Ito didn't know yet. There were pistols beside them, when led him to conclude that those men owned the guns.

"Kazumi, call forensics," ordered Ito. "Yukio-san, help me identify if the victims are still alive."

"H-hai!" Yukio stood straight at once and saluted. The foolhardy policeman forgot to tell one very important detail to the detectives: that just a few minutes ago, an ambulance came to pick up a wounded man from the house of the Kanzakis.

* * *

_**Odagiri Ridgeway – 9:24 p.m.**_

"N-no…" said the Galmi, who knelt down on the spot after it had received that fatal attack. Lifting its hands with difficulty, the Aguima found its once rock-hard fingers fall down and disintegrate, mixing into the puddle of mud below. Next to fall apart were the rest of its hands, then the wrist, the arm… they all crumbled like hollow blocks.

Mori Takashi, the Galmi Aguima glared at his opponent. The creature no longer wore a cloak; instead, it was clad in a white and cyan suit slightly similar to the descriptions of the well-known Kamen Rider. Its head (or was it a helmet?) looked like a snake's, except that it had those bug-like eyepieces. Its arms and legs were protected with what looked like snake scales. Instead of a hard breastplate, however, its body was protected by a mere white, X-shaped longcoat with a spider replica at the center, kept in place by a belt with a spider web buckle.

Mori asked for the last time, "W-who…"

"Be happy, mister, for your soul has returned to its pure state," said the creature mistily. "As for my name, remember this…"

Spreading its arms wide like someone welcoming back a long-lost friend, it continued, "Correcting history's mistakes, dealing heaven's judgment… I am the Rightful Reaper, FENDERE."

Another roll of thunder – the last thunder Mori would ever hear. The Galmi's head cracked, shivered, and finally fell apart, together with its other body parts that had already integrated with the loamy soil. Fendere gawked at the mud with a triumphant pose.

"That's the first one," said Fendere, as though he was talking to someone hidden in the midst of the heavy rain. "We still have three weeks to cleanse this city… Are you ready, my friend?"

* * *

_**Thursday – Sonoda City General Hospital – 3:09 p.m. (20 days before new moon)**_

Right after Valtere obliterated the Globulle, Fujita scampered away from the scene, leaving her target, Kanzaki Joe; and worse, even her subordinates. When Joe's Aguima transformation died down and returned to his human form, Hiro immediately took the former's bloody, almost lifeless body and brought him back to the house of the Kanzakis. Anna fainted in shock at the sight of her wounded brother. Yui and Keisuke insisted for an explanation, but Hiro couldn't give one at the moment. Grandmother Toko immediately called for an ambulance which arrived after a few minutes.

Arriving at the hospital, Joe was quickly brought into the emergency room. Yui and Keisuke once again demanded Hiro to tell them what happened, but he just lay silent at the waiting area. Toko said that maybe he was also shocked, much like Anna whose eyes was still blank as she sat there. The old lady then asked Keisuke to call for their parents so the latter could fetch them up, which he complied. Moments later, Yui's parents arrived, then Hiro's older sister Natsumi, and finally, the Kagami family driver (with a few bodyguards for Keisuke's security, even though he despised them). They bade goodbyes with each other, and long night was called off.

The next day, after school, Yui suspended all VOICE activities so they could visit Anna and Joe at the hospital. She tried to juice out information from Hiro again, but he found a perfect excuse:

"It… please don't make me remember it, Yui-chan," he said, turning his head low as if he was about to cry.

"Uhm, Hiro-kun… I understand. I won't ask again…" said Yui, feeling sorry.

"Thanks…" muttered Hiro. Valtere laughed inside his thoughts, "_Nice acting, kiddo!_"

'_'Twas real, tako._' The Illusori's host said telepathically.

* * *

The group arrived at Room 209, where Joe was transferred after the doctors successfully took him out of death's way. They bowed at Toko, who bowed back at them. Yui quickly asked, "How's Joe-san, Toko-obaasan?"

"He's recovering fast, thank goodness. Even the doctors were amazed! Have a seat right there, by the way," answered Toko with relief, glancing alternately between the young visitors and over the bed where Joe was lying down.

The three sat down on a long chair. Yui asked again, "Uhm... Where's Anna-chan?"

"She left just before you kids came… I believe she went to get some fresh air. Go on, talk to her," Toko replied with a gentle, motherly smile.

"Thank you, obaasan." Hiro, Yui, and Keisuke obeyed and left the room. They were about to go down the stairs when Hiro noticed a familiar person walking along the second floor corridor.

"Go ahead, Yui-chan. I'll just check on something," he said.

"Hey, where are you going? Oi, Saka-dono!" Keisuke said loudly.

"I'll catch up later!" replied Hiro as he ran back towards the corridor.

* * *

Panting, Hiro called out for the man who was about to enter Room 228, "Sugita-sensei!"

Caught by surprise, Sugita turned to see the teen rushing to him, "What are you doing here?"

Halting and catching his breath, the Hiro returned the question, "What are _you_ doing here?" He inhaled deeply, exhaled, then threw a fleeting look towards Room 228's door sign.

Sugita adjusted his eyeglasses before speaking, "I… um… I am visiting a relative." There was a tone of anxiety in the balding teacher's voice.

"I see…" Hiro was not convinced, but he didn't ask further because he thought he had no reason to nose at his teacher's personal life. Sugita asked again, "How 'bout you? Why are you two here?"

Valtere's ghost slithered out of Hiro's waist, "Bah! Nothing special, really. This boy's just visiting his _Pseudo _friend…"

"What?" a surprised Sugita cried out. Hiro said sarcastically, "Thanks for mentionin', Valtere."

The Illusori sniggered. The old man, meanwhile, looked fuming, "What's the meaning of this huh? Sakaguchi? Valtere?"

"Well, that's the reason why I'm here," replied Hiro sharply. "I –"

Sugita snapped before he could even start, "You befriended an enemy? What are you thinking, Sakaguchi-kun?"

"He's _not_ an enemy!" Hiro argued loudly, catching the attention of several nurses and patients along the corridor. He lowered his voice afterward, "I believe he's not."

There were a few moments of silence between them, before the teacher spoke again, "Tell me who this guy is."

Hiro related everything that happened yesterday night: Anna's birthday party, his first meeting with Kanzaki Joe, the instability of Joe's Aguima transformation, the mysterious group chasing after them; the voluptuous woman; the giant monster ball; how Valtere was almost devoured by the ball and how he won the fight over by using the Burning Soul Buffer.

"…the woman ran away after that," Hiro said, finishing his story.

"You let her escape?" Sugita eyes bulged, which were further magnified by the thick lens of his glasses. "She should've held important information!"

"And so is Kanzaki-san!" Hiro defended his decision. "He can help us."

"Or not…" Valtere sneered. One man with a bandaged foot shouted at them, "Uruse na (You're noisy)!"

"Sumimasen (Excuse me/Sorry)." Sugita bent his head down to the irritated man and up again. He readjusted his glasses, "I'll think about this. He's inside this hospital, right?"

Hiro nodded, "Yup, Room 209. I think we need to protect him. I'm sure that woman will return and try to get him again."

Sugita finally gave a nod of approval. "Alright. I'll do what I can. For now, I want you, especially you Valtere, to keep an eye on this Kanzaki-san. We don't know why he's being hunted down, but if he does, indeed, hold valuable information about the enemy, then we'll protect him at all costs."

"Whatever you say, boy!" Valtere gestured his hand like a gun, acting as if he just fired his finger at the old guy.

"I'm already 58; stop calling me _boy_!" Sugita gritted his teeth. Valtere grinned, "And I'm about 20 million years old, so technically, you're still a LITTLE BOY in my standards, dude."

Now irate, the teacher did not argue anymore with the ghost. Hiro laughed, "He has a point there hahaha!"

"Okay, okay, joke time is over! Go on now!" Sugita roared. Valtere reentered Hiro's body as the latter started to walk away, still laughing.

* * *

_**Sonoda City General Hospital – 3:32 p.m.**_

Sugita swiveled the doorknob of Room 228 and entered. He was greeted by a woman's voice. "Sakaguchi-kun, was it?"

The old, bespectacled man nodded and gaped at the woman reclining on the hospital bed. It was in very rare occasions like this that he was able to freely appreciate the woman's hidden beauty – the hazel eyes, the wavy, golden hair and the radiant, supple skin – no one would actually think that she had just turned 30. Then again, only a few people knew how beautiful this lady was. That is because, most of the time, she wore a thick, large, usually dark-colored cowl.

"Yes, Milady." He answered.

The Grave Maiden continued, "It's about the Pseudo-Aguima, I presume?"

Sugita was taken aback, "How…?"

The lady smiled weakly, "Only my health and channeling power was weakened, not my ability to detect Aguimas from a two-kilometer radius."

"I understand now, Milady," he bowed. "What are we supposed to do then?"

The Maiden stared at the ceiling, deeply in thought. "I believe it's time… for a change of plans."

_**(To be continued)

* * *

**_

_Next time: What happened to that fight between Mori and the mysterious creature named Fendere? Meanwhile, Ryuunosuke plans to confront Taguchi regarding Dr. Fujio's unbelievable revelation, how will the SpecTRe president react on this? And how will it affect Fujita's big screw-up? Also, what does the Grave Maiden mean when she said a change of plans is needed? What are her plans anyway? Finally, WHY AM I GIVING TOO MUCH QUESTIONS?_

_Stay tuned for _**Episode 14:** **Fendere's Retribution! Is SpecTRe Falling Apart?

* * *

**

_There you go! The second Kamen Rider: __**Fendere**__! While Valtere has a bat/scorpion motif, Fendere has a snake/spider motif. His character goes around a "Reaper" concept – hands death to the Aguimas because he thought he's the rightful one to do so. Unlike Valtere, Fendere is a very unorthodox rider; you guys will know what I mean in the later chapters. First proof of his unusualness was that he has __**TWO FORMS**__ to begin with: __**Ombra Form**__ (where he is dressed like a reaper instead of a Rider) and __**Illusori Form**__ (his basic Rider form, which is inspired from Kamen Rider Ouja in Ryuki and a Super Shinkenger :P). What do you think of the new rider and the story so far? You know what to do: REVIEW!_

_I also enhanced the description of Valtere's fire-based power-up (__**Burning Soul Buffer**__), because I thought I didn't give much justice to it back in Episode 10._

_By the way, after this episode, I'll go on a 2 to 3-week break, because of certain things that I need to attend to. I hope you guys are still with me when I return. (^^,) Till then, see ya!_

_*New Aguima Type: __**Galmi **__– a stone golem-inspired kaijin. Human form: __**Mori Takashi**_


	14. Episode 14SP: Fendere's Retribution!

_A/N: I'm back! It's been an awful while since I last updated; so to make up for it, I wrote a SPECIAL EPISODE! What made it SPECIAL? Well, aside from the fact that it is two regular chapters long, it also contains more action scenes and plot developments than a regular episode! So, without further ado, let me present Kamen Rider Valtere: Episode 14 SP!_

_Kamen Rider and all related trademarks © Toei. Valtere, its story, characters, and all related details © 2010 Kamen Driver. This story is best read at ½ page mode._

* * *

_**Odagiri Ridgeway – 8:54 p.m.**_

A sudden flash of lightning revealed the image of the mysterious creature squeezing Mori Takashi's chin – a dark figure donned in a black cloak, adorned with human bones and preserved spiders. It almost exactly looked like a Grim Reaper (if it actually exists), but the creature's words made Mori realize that it wasn't to be feared of – at least for now.

"You're… an Aguima, aren't you?" said the 'Reaper,' sounding like it was talking from a voice changer. Blood flowed back to Mori's face as he replied, "How did you know…?"

The Reaper's eyes, partly covered under his hood, burned red. Fiercely taking away its hands from Mori's chin as though it had touched something filthy, it slithered away from Mori and shouted, "You scum! Go, and show your true form to me! Show me the extent of your soul's corruption!"

"What are you talking about?" the SpecTRe Security Chief muttered. "How did you–"

The creature raised his scaly hand, his clawed fingers pointing to Mori. "If you want to know… then transform!"

The latter hesitated, but somehow the cloaked creature's piercing look (even though he couldn't exactly see its eyes) convinced him to do to as the former said. He closed his eyes; his muscles contracted, and then a flash of light; when it subsided, Mori had turned into the Galmi Aguima – his body now made of iron and stone. There were gold strips around his neck, wrists and ankles, and the Pseudo-Aguima's emblem was etched on its chest.

However, before he could even do anything, the cloaked man flew straight at him and brandished a twin-bladed scythe. The Galmi quickly blocked the attack with his rocky arm before the paper-thin blades could reach his neck. He asked, "What's the meaning of this?"

"You asked why I knew about Aguimas, am I right? Well, here's my answer…"

Leaning forward, the cloaked man said, "I was specifically revived… to DESTROY THEM!"

* * *

**Kamen Rider Valtere**

**Episode 14 SP: Fendere's Retribution! The Story of the Silver Rogues!**

* * *

_**Ladinr – 20 Million Years Ago**_

…And then, all of a sudden, the two of them were surrounded by at least fifty large, horned, bug-looking Aguimas. The monsters were controlled by a fat Orstan sorcerer, Ungulluta, who could easily be mistaken as an Aguima too because he looked more like a pig in a warrior's suit than a human.

"Well, what do we have here, eh? Two Illusoris, right into our marsh! Two times 150 gold each head… looks like I'm gonna have a luscious dinner tonight!" said Ungulluta, playing his tongue around his lips. A high-pitched buzz coming from the Sargtane Aguimas* echoed over the bog.

Standing back-to-back with each other in the midst of the thick mud, Valtere and Fendere aimed their weapons and prepared for assault. "Hey, wanna try if we can finish these guys off without transforming?" whispered Valtere.

"Hmmm… sounds great," said Fendere.

"Let's get rockin' then! GYAAAH!"

"FWAAAAH!" yelled Fendere as he and Valtere launched themselves to the surrounding Sargtanes. He swung his scythe to the nearest insect and sliced it in half, while Valtere pierced a row of bugs using his lance. "Bare fighting is a lot more fun than I thought!" Fendere remarked.

"Let's see if you can say that after this!" bellowed Ungulluta, thumping the ground using his feet to control the Aguimas' movement. The bugs swarmed together and darted towards Fendere with their poisonous butt forward.

"Watch out!" yelled Valtere. His foot stuck in the deep mud that he had no time to evade; Fendere swung his scythe and shouted, "**Enscien Dalerro**!"

The younger Illusori's weapon glowed into a bright cyan; the scythe's shaft broke into inch-long segments kept together by a stretchable thread. A holographic image of a snake's head appeared around the twin-bladed end before the whole thing vibrated and hissed like a cobra. Now functioning like a whip, he waved his weapon around, protecting himself from the incoming bug attack and consequently destroying them.

"Oi! Didn't I say NO TRANSFORMING?" cried Valtere, as he reverse-stabbed a bug trying to sneak up from behind him. Fendere answered, "It's just my weapon!"

The older Illusori (by a couple of years) sneered, "Tsk… you're lucky to have that Dalerro! My Ecrand can't do any trick lest I transform…"

The bug-killing spree ensued from the next few minutes, sending sprays of yellow "blood" and insect fragments everywhere. Ungulluta noticed that the two were not being serious about this fight. "You punks…!"

The fat Orstan stomped twice, catching the attention of remaining Sargtanes. The bugs then retreated and assembled over Ungulluta. Valtere and Fendere, meanwhile, stopped swinging their weapons and looked to where the monsters were going.

"Let's see if you can still act coolly after this!" Ungulluta opened his arms wide, swaying right and left as his foot followed a certain rhythm. Fendere jeered, scratching his head, "Do they really have to dance like that to control the Aguima?"

Valtere answered, "Not really! I once fought an Orstan who can control his minions using his finger. But hey, this dude's got some nice moves!"

Sooner, Ungulluta could be heard chanting something, "Gishi gishi kamma, gishi gishi kamma, gishi gishi kamma BUU!"

Fendere asked, "What's that language…?"

"He's just trying to make it sound mystical!" Valtere burst out laughing until he felt his stomach hurt, but he quickly got serious afterward. "Well, looks like he's done."

Ungulluta muttered one final "Gishi Gishi" before coming to a halt. A thick layer of brownish aura surrounded each and every Sargtane, then they collided with each other and combined like clay, finally remolding into one big, single Aguima – the Sargtan Maji.

One stomp from Ungulluta sent the Maji flying over the Illusoris. Valtere looked up and noticed that the flying insect monster was big enough to block the sun off their sight. This "mothership" version of the Sargtanes also looked more fierce and ready to chop heads off using its sharp scissor-like arms.

"About my dare… are you still in it?" said Valtere.

"It's still the same bug. No need to transform still," answered Fendere.

"Then let's go! FWAAAAAH!" Valtere hollered as he charged towards the Maji. Flapping its wings loudly, the giant bug dived straight to the approaching Illusori, its scythes and stings ready.

"Now, Fendere!"

Fendere threw his whip away like a fishing rod, catching and wrapping the Maji before it could reach Valtere. The bug gave out a high-pitched cry as it struggled to get itself out of the tangle. It screeched even louder when the whip's twin-bladed end started to bury within its body. Pulling the whip, Fendere deliberately slammed the insect monster to the ground, making it flinch.

"Do it, Valtere!"

Hearing his partner's call, Valtere jumped up and over the Maji's body. With one quick move he thrusted his lance into the giant bug, causing it to wince. The bug tried to shake the weapon off but as it did that, Valtere only buried the lance deeper and deeper until the monster reached its limit and…

"BAAAAAM!" Insect fragments filled the marsh as the Maji exploded like an overblown balloon. Soaked in yellowish slime Ungulluta stood on the spot, dumbfounded while another fragment from the Maji's body hit him on the face.

"Well…" Valtere brushed the slimes off his face before walking towards the Orstan, "looks like you won't be eating a _luscious_ dinner tonight…"

Ungulluta's eyes widened at the realization. As quick as he could (though technically moving quickly was always difficult for him), he tried to run away from the approaching Illusori, only to be caught and squeezed by Fendere's whip. "You can't escape!"

"Ungulluta ibn Bophistes…" Valtere pointed the tip of his lance to the Orstan's almost unseen neck, "You're busted."

* * *

_**Present Time – Odagiri Ridgeway**_

The fight between Mori – the Galmi Aguima – and the mysterious Reaper ensued under the violent thunderstorm, and obviously the SpecTRe Security Chief was at a disadvantage. Against someone who could levitate and could wield a deadly scythe in the most skillful way, Mori only had his rocky body and a few martial arts moves in his arsenal. He was not even sure if there was actually a body to be hit under that large cloak. He barely missed another direct hit from the twin blades; he slid below the Reaper and did a backwards flip to land a kick from behind. But the Reaper was quick to turn around; the Galmi's foot would've been cut by the scythe if the latter continued to do that kick.

'_I need to break through that guy's defenses,_' Mori thought, and it was quite ironic that it came from someone whose Aguima form was supposed to have the toughest defense of them all. He distanced from the Reaper, buying some time to devise a strategy to defeat the cloaked creature. Then he remembered something: they were fighting on a mountain ridge… and his Aguima form's attribute… is rock.

The Galmi stopped running and turned to the Reaper, who in turn halted to observe what his opponent was trying to do. The Galmi stomped twice on the ground and raised his hands slowly as though he was lifting something in the air. Boulders and gravel floated around him.

"Tsk, why haven't I thought of this earlier…" Mori laughed to himself. With one command he set the boulders flying towards the Reaper, which the latter tried to evade.

The Galmi hurled more rocks; the Reaper tried to break into the stone storm using its scythe, but one fast boulder suddenly hit his arm, making him lose grip on his weapon. Catching his opponent off-guard, the stone-skinned Aguima heaved a large chunk of rock from underneath and threw it to the seemingly confused Reaper, landing a serious hit.

The impact sent the Reaper flying, almost falling into the pit beside the ridge. Wasting no time, the Galmi leapt towards the cloaked figure and punched it repeatedly in the face. One, two, three, four…

By the fifth punch, however, the Reaper caught the Galmi's fist, squeezing it tightly and trying to crush it. The shadowy creature spoke breathily, "How dare you press that filthy fist to me?"

Surprised, the Galmi caught a glimpse of the Reaper's face – and he swore that could've been the biggest mistake he'd ever done in his life. The red eyepieces were burning in fury, piercing his eyes as though the Reaper despised his very existence. That stare sent shivers to Mori's spine, even though he didn't know what made him feel that way. And unexplainably enough, he got up and ran to a safe corner, while the Reaper slowly got up to his feet.

The dark figure then took out something from inside his cloak. It was about the size of an outstretched palm and looked like it was made from animal bone, but shaped like a spider's web. He placed it in front of his abdomen, and then all at once some silk threads came out of the "web" and wrapped around his waist, forming what could be a belt. The Galmi watched cautiously as the Reaper spoke, "**Chou Henshin.**"

His cloak slowly dissolved, as though it was slowly being burned from the edges, until it was replaced by a white longcoat forming an X at the torso area while a large, hairy spider adhered on its center. Beneath the coat was a body armor patterned from snakeskin. His head (or was it a helmet?) looked like a cobra with an open jaw, its fangs forming the eyepieces.

The Galmi's eyes dilated in terror. "W-what… are you?"

* * *

_**Ladinr – 20 Million Years Ago**_

"You fought Ungulluta without transforming? Are you guys insane?" Raydne exclaimed incredulously, catching the attention of other people in the pub.

"He's a Category Four Orstan anyway… not a problem, really," said Fendere, sitting next to Valtere at the bar, while the pub owner's daughter, Raydne, prepares a mug of ale for both of them.

"But still! That's dangerous!" snapped Raydne.

"Hey, hey," said Valtere. "You don't need to go hysterical! The fight is over; and here I am, very much safe, staring at your lovely face and taking a sip from this mug of ale aged with our love…"

"That cocky attitude makes me wish you should've been punished hard by Ungulluta," said Raydne loudly, slamming the bar's table with her two hands. She turned away from Valtere and tidied some utensils behind her.

Fendere sniggered, "Bad shot again eh?"

"You…!" Valtere gritted his teeth, just as someone outside the pub shouted, "Announcing the arrival of Lord Filleus!"

"Filleus?" muttered Fendere, frowning. Valtere didn't seem happy either, "What does that punk want this time?"

Rushing outside to meet their very important visitor, Valtere, Fendere and Raydne saw four men in breastplates, mounted on green, giant, armored lizards the people of Ladinr called the "Ridosaurus." Behind the soldiers was a long-haired, dark-skinned man dressed in a bulkier and shinier platemail, and mounted on a differently-colored Ridosaurus – a more ferocious species than the regular ones. This was Filleus, Head of the Illusori Circle and second-in-command to the King of Ladinr.

"What brings you here eh, Filly boy?" Valtere asked apprehensively.

"How dare you speak to Lord Filleus like that?" yelled the soldier right next to Filleus, feeling scandalized. "You have no right to talk disrespectf –"

"Gandoo, it's okay," Filleus told his bodyguard. "They're friends of mine."

"B-but…"

"Didn't you hear your master?" Valtere said loudly. "I can talk to him whichever way I want so shut up right there and let your chief do the talking, alright?"

The guard fell silent, looking rather affronted. Valtere continued, "So, what brings you here?"

Filleus cleared his throat before answering, "I need your help."

The Chief Illusori took Valtere and Fendere to a lakeside significantly far from Raydne's pub or from any particular dwelling in town. What he was about to reveal was a very confidential information, thus it was imperative that _only_ the three of them (not even his guards) should hear this conversation.

"We are currently in a _virtual_ ceasefire with the Orstans, well, there are some rogue ones like Ungulluta – yes, I've already heard about what you two did: fighting an Orstan without transforming, eh?" Filleus said before either of the two could even react.

"Anyway, back to the topic… this, uhm, _ceasefire_… is about to end."

"About to end?" asked Fendere, sitting on a tree branch. "You mean they're moving again?"

"Yes," confirmed Filleus, looking over the lake with great anxiety. "The Allied Nations are serious about obliterating Ladinr, I guess."

"So what do want us to do?" Valtere said sharply and coldly. Filleus, however, didn't seem to ignore it; or it could be that he was just ignoring the former's attitude.

"We've received two very alarming reports: first, a plan to assassinate the King –"

"Wait… Assassinate the King?" Fendere asked, looking shocked.

"Yes. And second, a new research facility funded by the Orstans that aims to combine earth and human spirit channeling."

"W-what?" Valtere's jaws dropped.

"They are effectively trying to combine the power of an Illusori and an Orstan, creating a new breed of warriors that will be called a Pseudo-Aguima."

"But… wouldn't that be impossible? I mean, isn't the knowledge about spirit channeling a top secret among the Circle? How would the Orstans know about that technique?" Fendere asked.

"That's what I've been thinking," Filleus answered grimly. "Sadly, these two reports imply that might well be some… traitors within our ranks."

A few moments of silence followed. Valtere stared at the Illusori Chief before talking, "So you think we're the traitors?"

Filleus laughed and answered quickly, "No! In fact, I think the opposite: among the people inside the Circle, I believe you two are the ones I could fully put my trust on. That… is exactly why I came here. I need you to investigate on these matters."

Another moment of silence. Valtere looked at Fendere, who in turn nodded at him. He then turned to Filleus and said, "Alright. What's the plan?"

The latter smiled, taking Valtere's words as acceptance of his request. He took out a rolled parchment that was hung together with the scabbard of his sword. Unrolling on a large, flattened rock, it was revealed to be a map of a forested area located north of Ladinr.

"Babulos Forest?" Fendere muttered, jumping down from the tree branch. Filleus answered, pointing at the center of the parchment, "This, I think is where their research facility is located."

He continued, "My troops could not go on and rush over there without solid intelligence, therefore I need someone to spy on the area."

Without ado, Fendere volunteered, "I'll do it."

"Hey! Don't go decide that for yourself!" snapped Valtere. Fendere replied with a reassuring look, "I've got better stealth skills than you do. Only I can do that job."

"B-but…"

"If it's Fendere then I won't worry," seconded Filleus.

"Are you saying I can't do it?" Valtere yelled.

"No, that's not what I –"

"Brother!" Fendere said, even though he and Valtere weren't really brothers. Truth is that they were cousins – the last surviving members of the Argantz Clan characterized by their silver-colored hair. Everyone who knew them, however, actually thought they were twins; because aside from their long, silver hair, they also shared the same complexion and height. Even their sense of style is the same: they liked to wear long, black coats and high-cut boots. The only distinguishing feature perhaps is that Valtere's eyes were hazel brown, while Fendere's is bluish-green. "I don't know how long this mission'll take, but if you go instead of me then who'll protect Raydne?"

Valtere fell silent. Filleus, meanwhile, distanced a bit from them because he thought this matter was personal, even though he knew at once that Fendere had hit the right button. The cousins stared intently at each other… until finally Valtere smiled. "Alright. Do it. Just don't screw up," he said.

"So… it's settled then?" Filleus asked, gaping alternately between the two.

"Yes," Fendere answered.

* * *

_**Present Time – Odagiri Ridgeway**_

**"Chou Henshin."**

The Reaper's cloak slowly dissolved, as though it was slowly being burned from the edges, until it was replaced by a white longcoat forming an X at the torso area while a large, hairy spider adhered on its center. Beneath the coat was a body armor patterned from snakeskin. The creature's head (or was it a helmet?) looked like a cobra with an open jaw, its fangs forming the eyepieces.

The Galmi's eyes dilated in terror. "W-what… are you?"

The latter did not answer; he rose his hand up in the storm and suddenly, the scythe that was thrown away earlier returned to his hands. He took out the golden, spider-shaped crest secured on the weapon's tang and placed it at the center of his web-shaped belt buckle, to which it fastened and sent out streams of golden light all around the belt. A disembodied voice spoke: "**Scythe R-r-rattle...**"

A surge of aura crept along the scythe's shaft as it transformed into a whip-like weapon – segmented blades connected by a stretchable thread. A holographic image of a snake was projected on the whip's twin-bladed tip.

Slightly panicking, the Galmi hurled rocks again as the Reaper, equipped in a new armor and weapon slowly walked towards him. With a wave of hand the whip blew every approaching boulder to smithereens. Realizing that this type of attack had become useless, the Galmi punched on the ground with full force, causing a minor earthquake and creating a crack that trailed towards the Reaper's direction. However, the coat-clad warrior jumped high before the crack reached him. He swung the whip in open air, catching the Galmi below; by the time the Reaper landed back on the soggy ground, the Aguima was already in a very tight grip.

The Galmi trashed about, but as he did that Reaper's whip only tightened more, constricting him like a prey slowly being subdued by a snake. Fortunately his stone armor was thick enough to protect him from the whip's segmented blades and the sharp tip, or he could've sliced into bite-size pieces fairly easily.

_'No…I can't die…'_ he thought. He hadn't cleared his name to Taguchi-sama and to the rest of SpecTRe yet. He hadn't yet proved that Dr. Fujio (that's at least what he thought) was the one who let Number 29 escape!

The Reaper took out the golden spider from his belt buckle and replaced it with another spider-shaped jewel, this time sky-blue in color. Bluish light emanated from it, flowing along the lines of the web-shaped buckle and around the belt, and then the light travelled from the belt to the whip, finally settling at the segmented blades around the Galmi.

The blades, in turn, disengaged from the supporting thread and floated around the Aguima, while bluish light that covered each blade transformed it into some gaseous needles. The Galmi gaped at the blades, unsure of what would happen next.

Another loud thunder roared over the Ridgeway. The Reaper raised his hands up... and as he put it down, the needles sped toward the Galmi's body. The warrior whispered, "**Soul Syringe.**"

"GWAAAAAAAAH!" It was unlike any pain Mori had felt in his life. The needles did not pierce through his hardened body, but through his soul. He felt the flow of earth's energy being violently disturbed by the needles that he thought his whole body would explode.

* * *

_**Babulos Forest (Orstans' Hideout) – 20 million years ago**_

Someone behind Fendere pushed him towards the center of the chamber, making him stumble onto the painted ground. His clothes torn, soil-rolled, and wrists and ankles tied, he tried to make out the interior of the dungeon from his hair-obscured eyes. It was mysteriously and amazingly spacious for an underground cavern.

He heard a grumpy voice from behind. "He's the one?"

Another voice answered, "Yes."

Fendere then heard footsteps approaching him, stopping in front of his face. He looked up, and saw a familiar man; it was Anwicht vi Lesannia, the leader of the Orstans' Northern Forces.

"Well, if it isn't Fendere d'Argantz of the Silver Rogues!" Anwicht said gleefully, lowering his head to enjoy the pitiful sight. Fendere met the Orstan general's face; it was as horrific as he remembered: the cracked nose and cheeks contrasted the general's bald, shiny head shimmering like a ball of light inside the dim dungeon.

Anwicht turned away from him and spoke to the guards again. "Are the preparations ready?"

"The Illusoris should arrive any minute now, sir."

'The… Illusoris?' Fendere thought. 'Just what is happening –'

"AAAAARGH!" he shouted in pain as Anwicht's metal boots deliberately stepped on his thigh. The general laughed heartily, "Sorry… Fwahahahaha!"

It was too painful that Fendere's tears flowed out of his eyes, mixing into his sweat. He could not even do anything to resist – his Soul Binder and scythe were confiscated a while back. He knew he was in deep trouble, and he desperately needed to think of a way to escape or else he'll be…

"They have arrived!" announced the same voice as before. Fendere heard Anwicht proceed to greet whoever those newcomers were. Then came some indiscernible mumbles, which led Fendere to assume that there were about 10-20 people behind him.

He heard Anwicht again. "Prepare the pillars! Now!"

_'Pillars?'_ Fendere tried to look around. He saw some people surrounding him, forming a circle. Based on the uniforms, he knew that they were a mix of Illusoris and Orstans. _'What is happening?'_

Two loud thumps from a drum echoed over the cavern, followed by a chorus of "UWAH!" from the surrounding people. The next thing he knew, they were all dancing like in some sort of a ritual – and he was some sort of a sacrifice. The ground then shook; he felt a few small stones roll out from the cave's ceiling and fall into his head. When the shaking stopped, tall, eerie pillars mysteriously emerged from behind each of the performers.

Fendere tried to move around to catch a glimpse of Anwicht. He found the General near a large face sculpture beyond the pillars, talking to a tall man who wore a brown cowl, and whose face was hidden under the hood. He heard one of the Orstans who performed the ritual shout, "The pillars are ready!"

This announcement caught the attention of Anwicht and the hooded man. Stepping forward, the general voiced out, "Commence extraction!"

_'Extraction? What –'_ Fendere's panicking thoughts were interrupted when two men approached and lifted him up. One of them stomped on the ground, summoning another stone column from underneath. The two men left as soon as he was securely tied on to the center pillar.

Now practically standing, Fendere was able to get a better look at the faces of the people surrounding him. And just as he suspected, the whole lot was an odd mixture of Illusoris and Orstans. He even knew some of the Illusoris: there was Lecath from the Donta Tribe to his left; Dorrana of Ladinr's archiving department in front; Leppool , a Ridosaurus tamer to the right; and beside Leppool – his jaw dropped in terror when he realized who that was – Filleus' bodyguard, Gandoo.

"Gandoo! What's the meaning of this? Why have you betrayed us?" he cried loudly. Gandoo, however, was awfully quiet; he just gawked at Fendere with an emotionless pair of eyes.

"Gandoo! Leppool! Dorrana! Lecath! WHY? Answer me! An –"

Drum beats echoed again, drowning Fendere's desperate voice. Gandoo and the rest of the Illusoris and Orstans danced again to the percussions' rhythm. 'No, they weren't dancing…' Fendere realized. 'That was… the Spirit Channeling Exercise!'

And then, the large diamonds fastened at the top of each pillar glowed one by one, starting from the one behind Dorrana then counterclockwise, until all twelve pillars were fully lit. The light then flowed down, trailing along the engraved lines on the stone columns, travelling to the circular platform where he was tied up. The lights soon reached his feet, then to the engraved lines on the pillar where he was constricted, and finally to the large crystal above him.

"And now…" Anwicht stepped forward, holding a square-foot sized marble tablet. Fendere couldn't make out the glyphs drawn onto it, but he was sure he saw something like:

**-=- S i e l e r e z u I l l u s o r i F e n d e r e -=-**

"_In this place rests the Illusori Fendere…_" he read, realizing that the tablet was supposed to be his tombstone. _'So, in the end, they'll still kill me. But why so elaborate like this?'_

"On the count of three…" shouted Anwicht. Gandoo and the other Illusoris took out their Soul Binders, while the Orstan group took out their Gaea Guiders and Aguima-controlling devices.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

They all threw their binders and guiders towards the large shining crystal at the top of Fendere's pillar. High-energy arcs branched out and connected the crystal to each and every device that floats around it. The crystal's reaction to the binders and guiders created a small tornado inside the cavern; Fendere and the pillar trapped in its center.

"Spirit Resonance is… successful!" exclaimed Anwicht, garnering a loud, victorious applause from all the people inside the cavern. "Now, for the final step…"

The crowd turned silent – all of them eager to see what would happen next. Anwicht turned to the hooded man and nodded, which the latter acknowledged by nodding back. And then, when everything seemed to be in order, Anwicht pitched the tablet into the tornado, joining Fendere, the crystal, and the binders and guiders inside.

Fendere saw the marble tablet collide with the crystal. The impact shattered the latter, causing the flow of energy from the surrounding pillars to the binders and guiders to shift and be directed into the tablet. And then he felt it – he writhed in pain as he felt his body… no, not his body… it's his soul that was being sucked into the tablet!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

* * *

_**Odagiri Ridgeway – Present time**_

"N-no…" said the Galmi, kneeling on the spot after it had received that fatal attack. Lifting its hands with difficulty, the Aguima found its once rock-hard fingers fall down and disintegrate, mixing into the puddle of mud below. Next to fall apart were the rest of its hands, then the wrist, the arm… they all crumbled like hollow blocks.

He glared at his opponent, asking for the last time, "W-who…?"

"Be happy, mister, for your soul has returned to its pure state," said the creature mistily, still holding the whip in his hands. "As for my name, remember this…"

Spreading his arms wide like someone welcoming back a long-lost friend, he continued, "Correcting history's mistakes, dealing heaven's judgment… I am the Rightful Reaper, Fendere."

Another roll of thunder – the last thunder Mori would ever hear. The Galmi's head cracked, shivered, and finally fell apart, together with its other body parts that had already integrated with the loamy soil. Fendere gawked at the mud with a triumphant pose.

"That's the first one," said Fendere, as though he was talking to someone hidden in the midst of the heavy rain. "We still have three weeks to cleanse this city… Are you ready, my friend?"

No distinguishable voice was heard apart from the sound of the thunderstorm, but Fendere somehow got the reply of his 'friend.' Still in his Illusori form, he walked towards Mori's motorcycle lying on the edge of the Ridgeway. "You want this?"

He paused, seemingly trying to get his 'friend's' answer. "Alright, this is yours now."

A white, ghostly figure emerged from the woods, flying happily over his new bike. The ghost said, "Thanks."

"Shall we go now?" asked Fendere. The ghost nodded.

The Illusori took out the Soul Binder belt. Then came a flash as bright as the lightning, and when it subsided, Fendere and the white ghost were nowhere to be found. In their place were a relatively tall man wearing a yellow raincoat and another ghost of a young man who had long, silver hair and wearing a black coat. The man in the raincoat hopped the bike, started the motor, and sped off towards the Main Road.

**(To be continued)**

* * *

_Next Time: We've known him as the leader of SpecTRe, an organization bent on producing Pseudo-Aguimas and reviving the Orstans. We've known him as the one who sent Tomoi to kidnap Yui for reasons unknown (even though her capture was seemingly not in his highest priority for the mean time), and the one who held Kanzaki Joe captive for many years. But who exactly is Taguchi Yusuke?_

_**Stay tuned for Episode 15: Is SpecTRe falling Apart? Taguchi's Prologue!**_

* * *

_A/N: I know. This chapter was supposed to be titled "Fendere's Retribution! Is SpecTRe Falling Apart?" but the part about Fendere's past and his battle with Mori/the Galmi turned out pretty long that I made it into a separate episode. Sadly, I will be back on hiatus again after this chapter; but I might be able to release another episode before October ends._

_More about Fendere: His Soul Binder belt is shaped like a spider's web, unlike Valtere's which looked like a sundial. Instead of rotating the dials (as what Valtere does) to summon his weapons or execute his attacks, Fendere uses the "Arachnodes" – jewels shaped like spiders –which function similar to Kamen Rider Kiva's Fuestles._

_New Aguima Type: __**Sargtane **__– Brown, horned, bug-like Aguima; cross between a bee and a mantis and is about 1.5 feet in length. __**Sargtan Maji**__ – a giant Sargtane formed by recombining the smaller ones. About nine feet tall. Controller: __**Ungulluta ibn Bophistes**_

_P.S. I hope you guys (Dakegun, Shuriken16, Kisdota, the people who favorited, and possibly new readers) are still there to give your insights (whether they be positive or negative) about this story. ^^,_

* * *

**But the show is not over yet… because Super Hero Time is back!**

Hiro: Good day everyone! I'm Sakaguchi Hiro, and welcome to Super Hero Time! Da Big Comeback!

Yui: And as always, this section is meant for characters which were given less screen time, such as… me…

Hiro: … and me…

Keisuke and Anna: We too…

Hiro: Tsk… This episode was totally dominated by…

Valtere: ME!

Fendere: ME! Ore? (notices Valtere)

Valtere: Ore? (notices Fendere)

(Hiro and the others gape at the two Riders)

Fendere: W-what are you…? I thought…

Valtere: WEYTAMINIT! What are you doing here? Have you been revived too?

Fendere: I'm the one who should ask that! Oi, writer! I thought I was the star of this show?

Valtere: Teme! (grits teeth) Didn't you look at this story's title? It says… (looks at the billboard above them)

**_Kamen Rider VXXXXXX -__ Fendere (^^,)_**

Valtere: (goes hysterical) WAAAAAH?

Fendere: I told you so. (nods)

Valtere: NO! It can't be! I was revived first!

Fendere: Nah-ah! I was revived first… oops, that's a spoiler... Gomen ne?

Writer: Fendere. You've said too much. Expect for some consequences very soon.

Sugita: Consequences… is my name. (grins like a dog)

Fendere: (pleads) GOMENASAI!

Valtere: That four-eyed teacher versus brother Fendere? Sounds interesting… (criminal eyes)

Writer: You've said too much, Valtere. Expect for consequences (enter Sugita again with a "Consequences" nameplate) too.

(Valtere cowers under the table)

Hiro: You too, writer-san! You've said too much! Expect for –"

Sugita (as Consequences): I'm Here!

Hiro: WILL YOU SHUT THE FRAG OFF, YOU GEEZARD!

Yui: That ends Super Hero Time! Trust me; you don't wanna see these guys do a Royal Rumble. (Whispers) It's disturbing. ^^,


End file.
